Darkness Absolute
by Agent Baron
Summary: A vampire terrorizes Domino! Oh, no! I kept this summary because I don't care to change it.
1. Chapter 1

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 1

_Long ago, there lived a mythical race of creatures that dwelled of the night. No one knows of their origin, only of their bloodthirsty nature. Feared and regarded as beasts of the devil himself, they were ruthlessly hunted and slaughtered by the mass. Traces of survivors are scarce and vague, and to this day, they are only thought to exist in fairy tales…_

A young man leans back in his chair. He stares intently intently at the beautiful young girl in front of him, sitting at the table's opposite end. The man is in his early twenties, and looks even younger. His piercing light blue eyes stared straight into the girl's, capturing her very soul.

The girl simply stared back, in a stupor. She found herself incapable of movement whatsoever. She had become so entranced in his eyes that she heard nothing and thought nothing. All she could feel within her very being was passion, lust.

"Well, I believe we're about done here, are we?" said the man coolly.

"Yes, we can leave if you're ready," she replied, staring back at him.

The man set his wine glass on the table and called the waiter as he came by, asking for the check. The girl took one last sip of her tea and wiped her face clean with her handkerchief.

"Don't worry about the food," suggested the man to his date. "I'll take care of everything."

"Yes… thank you," the girl said in reply, without hesitation.

As the two left the restaurant, they noticed the streets were rather empty.

"We stayed a bit late, didn't me?" asked the man, the girl nodding. "Well, I suppose I should walk you home, considering the time. Would you mind?"

"Oh, no, not at all…"

The two enjoyed a peaceful walk home. The man, about six feet tall, was a bit muscular for his size. He had rather fair skin, a bit pale, and short, flowing silver hair that hung partway down the sides of his face, just outside his eyes. He had brilliant, light blue eyes, rather thin, and a very smooth smile.

The girl with him had a slightly round face, just enough to keep it interesting. She had large blue eyes and a dainty nose, with brown, shoulder-length hair, tiny bangs decorating her hairline.

As they approached her house, they stopped on her doorstep.

"I really enjoyed our time tonight, Dolimus…" said the girl, flustered.

"I know you did," he said, pulling her chin up so that she could look directly into his eyes. "You looked very lovely tonight, I hope you know that."

"Uh… ah…" she uttered, becoming lost in his eyes once more.

"You don't have to say a word… I know you'll remember this night for the rest of your life…"

He then bent down and gave her a soft peck on the lips. She placed her hands on his hips as he embraced her. They kissed for a few moments until Dolimus began to work his way down her cheek and began pecking lightly at her neck. She stood, eyes closed, warmth glowing inside her body when suddenly, he bit her neck.


	2. Chapter 2

**I believe I shall learn from the authors of fictions past and begin responding to my reviews here! Sound good? Well, I don't know who to give credit to, so, uh... thank your pet or something. Anyways, here goes!**

**starrynightz: Congratulations, here is another chapter for you! Unfortunately, you never learn who the girl is in it. **

**Amazoness Archer: Of course I posted ahead of you, cause I'm the baron. Thanks for the compliment on the story! My first chapters are typically just introductions, a means of introducing new characters so you have an idea of who they are and such. They're not meant to be plot-revealing or... entertaining.**

**Hysterik-Angel: Sorry I didn't update soon, I just had some trouble finding the inspiration for this chapter... but I already have inpiration for the next, fear not! I'm enjoying this so far... Thanks for reviewing and liking my story and such. I'll see you around!**

**Rice Kracker: Yep! That sense of comfort is what I hoped to go for! But... it took you this long to put me on alerts? After the entire "The Masked Duelist" story? You fiend! Ah, well. I guess beggars can't be choosers. Not like I'm the most popular ficcer on here, eh? j/k. You're cool. Thanks for reviewing! **

**bakuras-gurl2003: Pretty? I don't know where you found my pic, but... thanks for the compliment? lol, j/k. I'll definitely write more. Hey, look! I did! Whaddaya know! More to come, too! You can bet your left sock (you're gonna lose one of them anyway, may as well be the left).**

** Sorry pal, I'm not even a big fan of vampires. I personally don't think they make very good horror monsters. I'm actually doing this fic as part of a fic duel. An opponent and I are assigned a genre of fanfiction to make, and try to write a better fic than the other, determined by the members of a forum I am part of. If anyone wants to join in the fun of Yami/Tea, by the way, check out Yamea: The Yami/Tea forums at s3. fan: Yami/Tea... Yami/Tea... Idunno... Like you said, romance-y stuff isn't my strong suit. I'd say maybe... some subtle hints, but nothing too blatantly Yami/Tea.I don't know, but the good news is that my stories write themselves! The possibilitie's still there.**

**IWillLearnToLoveAgain: The girl was Dolimus's date. Trust me, if I wanted you to know who it was, her name would be put in there, lol.**

**Everybody, again, thanks for reviewing! This chapter... I'm not too happy with it, but the end turned out pretty nice, so I decided to keep it as is. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Darkness Absolute

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 2

It was another day at school for Yugi. One year after the Battle City tournament, everything had finally died back down and returned to normal. He came into his first period class and sat in his seat.

_Yugi, remember to concentrate on your schoolwork more than the puzzle of the god cards…_ Yami thought to him. _You can leave that to me during school, we don't want another incident like yesterday to occur…_

_Yeah, I know. Maybe I was getting a bit too absorbed in my own mind,_ he joked in reply.

The previous day, his obsession with figuring out the secret behind the legendary ancient Egyptian god cards had finally reached a climax when he entered his own little world and fell down the stairs during school, knocking over everyone in his path. Later that day, he had completely lost his grip on reality to the extent that his teacher had to slam a book on his desk to snap him out of it.

_I'll just mind my own business,_ he laughed.

A few kids stared at him, weirded out.

The bell rang and his teacher came inside the classroom. She took the binder full of papers she was holding and plopped it on her desk.

"Alright class, before we begin, I'd like to announce that we have a new student in class," she spoke. She peered toward the back of the class and asked, "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

The class looked at the mysterious new student in the back of the room. Yugi, sitting in the second to first row, had to turn around and crane his neck around to get a good look.

"With all due respect, ma'am, I've never excelled at public speaking…" he said quietly.

"Would you just tell us your name and a little about yourself, then?"

Standing up, he cleared his throat and spoke. "Well… my name is Dolimus. I moved here from Romania. I currently live with my father. Um… I guess that about it."

"Thank you Dolimus, that was very nice. Class, will you show him some respect?"

He received a weak applause from the class. Giving in, the teacher sat at her desk.

"I have a few papers to finish up with, so you all can talk amongst yourselves for a few minutes."

Yugi noticed a lot of girls staring at Dolimus.

_Yugi, I have a strange feeling about him,_ thought Yami.

_Really? Why?_ asked Yugi in reply.

_I don't know. Perhaps just a feeling, nothing more._

_He seems nice… I'll talk to him after class, try to meet him._

Once the class ended, Yugi followed Dolimus into the hall.

Dolimus wheeled around to face Yugi before he could say anything.

"Wow!" chirped Yugi, surprised. "Talk about perfect timing, huh?"

Dolimus stared at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Heh… I'm Yugi," he introduced, extending his hand.

"Do you like cold feet… as much as I do?" he asked, his eyes narrow.

Yugi withdrew his hand and shifted his gaze to the side. He shuffled his feet, nervously.

"I'm just playing with your mind, Yugi," Dolimus chuckled, extending his hand. "I'm sorry I overestimated your sense of humor. Nice to meet you, the name is Dolimus."

"Oh! Ha ha, I was starting to believe you were serious… Wow, your personality just seemed so… different in the classroom. I'm in your homeroom… by the way."

"I see. Well then, I did mention in there that I was not the best public speaker. It's just not my favorite thing to do."

"Oh, okay. I get nervous, too. Anyway, I'd like to stay and chat, but I have to get to my next class."

"Yes, same here. What class do you have?"

"Oh, I have physics next."

Dolimus pulled a piece of folded paper from his pocket he read over it, and said, "I have… algebra next. Well, then I guess I'll let you go. You're a nice kid, Yugi. Let's chat again soon."

"Yeah, okay!"

Dolimus left towards the math pod and Yugi wandered toward his science pod, muttering under his breath.

_I'm sure he didn't mean it offensively, Yugi,_ Yami thought to him.

_I'm not a kid._

Yugi wandered into his physics class and was greeted by Joey and Tristan.

"Hey, Yug, howyadoin!" Joey shouted, slapping him hard in his back.

Yugi stumbled forward a few steps and rubbed his back.

"That's a heck of a way to greet someone, Joey…" commented Yugi.

"Ah, I'm a little hyper today, to tell the truth."

"That explains the energy. The stupid actions are just him being Joey," Tristan cracked.

"Why I oughtta…" threatened Joey, shaking his fist at Tristan. He was cut off when the bell rang.

Yugi scampered over to his seat while Joey and Tristan meandered to theirs. Joey had been assigned to a seat on the opposite side of the room to prevent his habit of disrupting class by goofing off with Tristan, who sat in front of Yugi.

The teacher came in and began his lesson while Tristan and Yugi slipped comments to each other.

"I think I may have met a new friend," Yugi said to him.

"That so? What's his name?"

"It's Dolimus. He moved here from Romania!"

"Really? That kind of… far. What's he like?"

"Well, he's got a sense of humor… sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Never mind about that. Anyways, judging by the class he has next, I think he has lunch at the same time we do. I'll introduce you guys to him!"

"Sounds good to me."

Come lunch time, Yugi, Joey, and Tristan got their lunch prior to sitting at their usual table. Yugi kept a watchful eye for Dolimus moving through the line. Within a few minutes, Tea approached the lunch table with him.

"Hey guys, I have someone I'd like you all to meet!" she said.

"Hey Dolimus! What's up?" piped Yugi.

"You're Dolimus? Wow, you're a handsome devil!" Joey joked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wish I could say the same," he replied.

The two stared at each other for a moment, when Dolimus smiled and said, "I'm joking. Nice to meet you."

"Ah haaaa, I like you already!" Joey said, shaking the man's hand. "Name's Joey Wheeler, at yer service!"

"I'll keep in touch."

"My name's Tristan," he introduced himself. "I hear you're from Romania?"

"Yes, I am. I moved here a week before I was enrolled at the school."

"What did you do in Romania before you came here?" Yugi asked, curious.

"Oh, nothing too important… it's boring, really," he answered, laughing it off.

"Hey, you gonna get any lunch?" Joey asked him.

"That's okay; I really never enjoyed cafeteria food. Thank you for the offer, though, Joey."

"I always pack my lunch," Tea offered, fetching them both a chair. "You can have one of my sandwiches if you want. I never eat them both."

"Really, I'm fine. Thank you for the kind gestures, I guess I'm just not all that hungry."

"Hey Tea," Yugi addressed her. "Dolimus has only been here a day… how do you know him already? Did you meet him in algebra?"

"Yep, exactly! He decided to talk to me because I was the only girl that didn't drool over him."

"They seem to follow me everywhere… I don't understand it, really. Then again, I can't complain…"

Everyone chuckled, and Joey added, "Ferget about da fish in the sea, you got enough in yer private aquarium!"

They all laughed harder.

"Hey, man, we're all headin' over to Yug's place to fire up a big game o' Monopoly," Joey mentioned. "You care ta join?"

"Hmmm… I think I'd appreciate that very much," Dolimus said, smiling. "Can't say that I've played before, though… So I may not be as good as you all."

"_Wat!_" Joey cried. "How can _anyone_ have never played Monopoly before?"

"Is that… a bad thing?"

"No, Monopoly is just so hugely popular, that we don't see many faces your age that haven't played it before," Yugi explained for him.

"Yeah, forgive Joey. He's about as blunt as a rock. About as dense as one, too—"

Just then, Joey bonked him on his head with his fist. "Hey, watch it!" he threatened. Tristan merely looked and pointed at Joey, a stern look on his face. Everyone else laughed.

It wasn't long before the bell rang for lunch to end.

The gang took care of their trash and parted ways.

"See you at my place, Dolimus!" Yugi called.

Dolimus nodded and headed off with Joey to his next class.

After school, Yugi and company met up at the Game Shop as arranged. Dolimus met with Yugi and followed him back directly from the school. As they entered, they found Sugoroku Mutou, Yugi's grandfather, restocking one of the shelves.

"Hi, grandpa!" Yugi greeted him.

He peered over his shoulder and climbed down to greet the friends.

"I don't believe we've met before…" he said suspiciously to Dolimus.

"He's a new student at the school, grandpa. His name is Dolimus," Yugi answered for him.

"Nice to meet you, Dolimus," smiled Sugoroku. "My name is Sugoroku Mutou, but a lot of people have trouble with my name, so you can call me Solomon."

"Wait…" Joey interjected. "Weren't you Trusdale just a week ago?"

"Yep, but not anymore! It's Solomon now!"

"Yeah, okay… this guy's name goes through more transformations than Optimus Primal…"

"What?" Tristan cried aloud.

"Beast Wars, man, come on. You need ta live a little, rememba yer youth!"

"I remember, all right, I'm just a bit surprised you're making a reference to that show."

"Wat's dat supposed ta mean?" Joey became defensive.

"It's an outdated kid's show!"

"Kid's show? Hey man, dat was more den a kid's show! Dere were some interesting references if you paid close enough attention! Not only dat, but dere was character development, an amazing and complex plotline…"

"It was a show about robots that turned into animals! _Wow!_ Turning into an animal sure makes you stronger!"

"Hey! Dose forms were ta protect dem from energon buildup, thank you very much, and you liked it when you were younger, admit it!"

"Yeah, when I was _younger_! Now that I'm twice that age and twice as mature—"

"Guys, are we gonna play some Monopoly or listen to you two argue over some geeky little show from your youth?" Tea interrupted.

"Hey! It's not geeky—" Joey started when Tea shoved her finger in his face, a stern look on her face. She then proceeded towards Yugi's room, Yugi and Tristan following close behind.

"It's still a cool show…" Joey muttered under his breath. And ventured toward the stairwell.

"Oh, Joey," Sugoroku called after him.

"Yeah, Yugi's Grandpa?"

He then tossed him a DVD case from a shelf. Joey caught it and looked at it.

"Hey! Dis is Beast Wars Complete Season One!" he exclaimed.

"I liked it while it was on, too," he admitted, winking. "Call it a gift, fan to fan."

"Wow! You're giving me the whole series?"

"You're buying the other two, don't push your luck."

"Gotcha."

Everyone had been playing for a few hours when Joey's sister, Serenity, came into Yugi's room.

"Hey, Serenity!" called Joey from the other side of the room.

"Hi, Joey! I came to tell you that you need to come home now. Dinner is on its way."

"We ordered out? Awesome! Wait… why didn't ya call?"

"Well… I wanted to stop by and say hello to everyone, and let them know I'm here!"

"Yeah… you never told me Serenity was here, Joey," commented Tristan flatly.

"There was a reason fer dat…" he muttered under his breath in reply. "Well, she came here ta visit for a few weeks."

Serenity's eyes scanned the room until she laid her eyes on a surprised Dolimus. The two locked eyes and became transfixed on each other. After a moment, Yugi stood up.

"This is Serenity," he introduced her to him, and turned to face her. "Dolimus, this is Serenity, she's Joey's sister."

"Hi…" he choked out, while Joey raised an eyebrow. "Pleasure to meet you."

Her cheeks flushed a bit, and she smiled sweetly in response.

Joey shot up and blurted out quickly, "_Alright,_ it's gettin late anyway, I guess we should be goin. Come on Serenity, let's go, let's go! You guys figure out what ta do with my stuff, don't let me stop yer fun"

He shooed her out the door and shut it behind him. Dolimus stood there for a moment, and sat back down. He seemed deep in thought about something.

"Are you okay, Dolimus?" Yugi asked, concerned.

"Hm? Yes, I'm okay, thanks for asking. Whose turn was it now?" he replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Yeah, I just got caught staying up late again. I'll respond to Chapter 2 reviews and Chapter 3 reviews next chapter, I promise!**

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"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 3

The next day, at lunch, Yugi was taken off guard to see Serenity with Joey.

"Yeah, I brought her in here so she can take a look at my school day and such," explained the blonde. "She's only here for a few weeks, gotta make da most of every moment, right, sis?"

She nodded modestly.

Just then, Tristan approached, unknowingly followed by Tea and Dolimus.

"Hey guys, howyadoin?" asked Tristan hypothetically, and hooking his bag to his chair prior to getting in the line.

He turned around, and barely missed running into Dolimus en route to the line.

"Hey, Dolimus!" greeted Yugi.

"Hello again, Yugi." He greeted in response, and noticed Serenity. "Uh… how long was she supposed to stay with Joey?"

"Oh, she'll only be here for five or six weeks, she's just visiting Joey at school."

"They don't see each other enough… at home?"

"Well, she lives pretty far away, and doesn't visit often, so they try to make the most of every moment they have together."

"Ah… I see. …She's a nice girl."

"Yeah, she's very friendly! Why do you say that?"

"Just a casual observation, my friend. She seemed a bit timid when she came to your house yesterday."

"Oh, yeah… she's a bit shy, but she should warm up to you after awhile. Just talk to her a little bit; I think you'll get along just fine."

Dolimus simply nodded in response.

"Aren't you going to get something to eat, Dolimus?" Tea joined in.

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm fine."

"Well, I remembered you said you didn't like cafeteria food, so I made an extra sandwich for you."

"Uh, yeah!" Joey piped in. "And I, uh… was gonna give you my Jell-O here, just as soon as I clean off dis plastic spoon."

"Really guys, I'm fine…" Dolimus resisted.

"Ignore Joey's Jell-O and have this sandwich, come on," Tea said, her tone a bit serious.

Dolimus gave everyone confused glances and reluctantly took the sandwich. He unwrapped it and stared at it, hard.

"It's peanut butter and jelly, there isn't a person alive that isn't allergic to peanuts that doesn't like this kind of sandwich," she boasted.

Dolimus mentally stared at the sandwich and slowly took a bite of it.

"Don't tell me dey don't have those sandwiches where you came from," commented Joey.

"I really wouldn't know, I didn't live close to other people," Dolimus said, struggling with chewing his mouthful of sandwich.

"You okay, man? You don't look so hot."

"I'll manage," he said, and choked down another bite of sandwich.

Serenity watched him, an odd look on her face.

"Does it taste… okay?" asked Tea. "They came from fresh containers…"

"No really, the sandwich is fine… I, uh… I have a… small… esophagus."

"Wha?" blurted Yugi and Joey in unison.

"It's… embarrassing, so I don't normally eat in front of people."

Dolimus had by now finished the sandwich, and looked a bit dizzy. He glanced over at Serenity, who quickly looked in another direction.

"Well then, I believe I shall leave you all to your… lunches for now, I know the bell will ring soon. I'm going to go… freshen up a little bit. Splash some water on my face, wash my hands and such," he announced. "Nice talking with you all again."

"Yeah hey, I'll see ya next class!" Joey called as he walked away, but he paid no heed.

Dolimus quickly strode toward the exit. As he exited the door, Yugi could see him break into a sprint through the door's window.

_You know Yami, he really doesn't seem like a bad guy,_ Yugi thought to Yami.

_Yes, perhaps you're right. I just can't help but have this feeling that…he's not everything he seems to be, I just can't put my finger on it,_ Yami responded.

In physics class, Dolimus came in tardy.

"Dolimus, I hope you are aware that you're late for class," the tech ed teacher informed him.

"I understand, sir, I'm sorry. I must have lost track of time while in the restroom," responded Dolimus.

"What were you doing in there that you lost track of time for five minutes?" spouted a random classmate from across the classroom. His buddy snickered with the rest of the class.

"Hey, you'd betta watch out who you're messin' wit!" shouted Joey from the middle of the room.

"Did you know sir," Dolimus informed the teacher. "that it is people quite like that boy over there that are so insecure about themselves that they are also the most likely candidates to perform a gender changing operation before they reach age twenty-five?"

The teacher rubbed his temple as the boy shouted from behind him, "What did you just say about me?"

"Oh, don't worry," Dolimus said to the boy. "It's not always people like you. All the others who don't will usually kill themselves off to alleviate their own sexual frustration around age thirty or so, but not without taking a couple helpless female victims with them."

"_Hey!_" shouted the boy, getting up as the class erupted into fits of laughter.

The teacher approached him and his friend adjacent to him pulled him back down. The teacher warned him to stay put. He then returned to Dolimus.

"I understand your will to defend yourself, but I will take care of the antagonism in here, is that understood?" he asked him calmly.

"Yes, I understand, sir. Thank you for understanding and I apologize," stated Dolimus, still calm, and took his seat.

His seat was typically next to Joey, but Serenity had filled his spot, so he sat adjacent to her, where a student was absent for the day.

"Hi," she greeted him quickly with a soft smile.

"Hello," he said back, smiling. "From what I hear, you're Joey's sister?"

"Yes, I come and visit every so often. Joey tells me you moved here from Romania?"

"Yes, I certainly do."

"What's it like, in Romania?"

"Well… I really can't say. I never spent too much time around town. I might stop by to get a quick bite to eat for dinner, but nothing more than that."

"Wow… so you lived out in the farmlands…"

"I guess you could say that…"

"What brought you out here to Japan?"

"Heh… I suppose you could say a rotten atmosphere, my father's occupation, and things of the sort."

"What does your father do?"

Just then, they were interrupted by the tech ed teacher.

"Excuse me, am I interrupting your conversation?" he asked, irked.

"I'm sorry, sir," he apologized. "It was my fault; I was trying to talk to her."

"I've seen the bee swarms you carry around with you in the halls; I'd suggest you pay more attention to your schooling than the female populous."

The class chuckled at him.

"With all due respect sir, it seems they pay more attention to me than I do them…"

"Either way, please let me teach the class. That includes you."

"Yes, sir."

Serenity looked at Dolimus and he silently mouthed, "Oops!"

She responded with a soft giggle and turned back to listen to the teacher.

Dolimus casually looked over to Joey, who was watching him with a cocked eyebrow. He stared at Joey for a moment, confused, and turned to listen to the teacher.

Dolimus walked down the hall a bit with Joey and Serenity once class had ended and was invariably shoved to the side by the boy he had met earlier in the classroom.

He looked at the boy coolly and brushed off his arm.

"It appears that you disagree with my earlier comment in the classroom?" he asked arrogantly.

"Yeah, you could say that. Allow me to give you my side of the argument by rearranging your handsome face, pretty boy!" he threatened.

"Oooh, you know I get a lot," Dolimus said to Joey as a crowd gathered around the group of five..

"Here, stick around here and let me deal wit this punk!" Joey said, stepping in front of Dolimus.

"No, I think I'll accept his offer."

"You'll what?"

"He's not going to fight you. He is like a small screaming toddler, he knows what he wants and nothing wants nothing else."

"You know how to fight? I mean ya look kinda built, but yer just a bit muscular for yer size. Believe me, I can tell, I been in plenty o' fights before."

"Joey, watch this."

Dolimus then stepped in front of the boy and crossed his arms.

"I'm ready to help you taste the floor whenever you are," he said, cockily.

"Ha!" grunted the boy, faking a straight shot to Dolimus. Dolimus remained still. The boy danced around a little bit and threw a left hook. Dolimus ducked under it and while catching the boy's arm, used his momentum to throw him far in front of him. The boy stumbled for balance as Dolimus turned to the crowd and coolly said, "Olé." They laughed at the boy.

The boy charged at Dolimus, and flipped clear over the boy, using his hunched back as a platform. This sent the boy into a belly slide, crashing into the legs of his friend, making him wobble a little bit.

"_Olé!_" roared the crowd.

"Come now, you can do better than that."

The boy angrily got up and ran at Dolimus, his hands extended.

"You street punks are all the same," Dolimus yawned, and used his arms to bat the boy's to either side and grabbed him by his neck.

He swung the boy around with massive force and threw him back first into a row of lockers lining the wall. He slipped to the ground, dazed while the entire hall stared at Dolimus in total shock.

"Are you finished now? I'm due for physical education, and being the growing young man I am, I really need my exercise," he said to the boy.

The boy ignored Dolimus completely, and walked away, holding his head, not even looking at him.

"Right, then. On to class?" he asked Joey.

"Uh… on ta… class, I guess. Pretty good fightin skills ya got dere. Dare I say almost as good as mine? Heh!"

"You never know, I suppose." Responded Dolimus, raising his eyebrow, smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright, here you go, guys! I apologize for the delay, but my router got destroyed. -.-; Anyways, here is your fourth installment in Darkness Absolute! On a side note, while I haven't been updating, I've still been writing the story, so you all can expect updates almost weekly until I'm caught up, though I'm nearly finished with the story anyway. And now, to respond to my reviewers!**

**Jellybob 15: Glad to hear I'm staying true to your favorite character! Interested to hear Dolimus is outdoing him with your story character favorite-ness. You yelled at me for forgetting to respond to your last review, so I hate you now.**

**Demidevi: It is.**

**Amazoness Archer: Actually, you're obligated to continue, aren't you? ;)**

**Rice Kracker: If you like Dolimus now, wait until future chapters. You won't be disappointed. ;) I've always loved reading your reviews, by the way! I'm rather proud of my action scene, lol. Acually, it should be rather obvious why the sandwich made him sick, lol.**

**john: Yeah, he's the vampire. It was established in the second chapter, I believe. Glad you like it so far!**

**That covers them all, I'd say! Everyone, thanks for reviewing, and here's your next chapter!**

* * *

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 4

As Joey and Tristan sat in Joey's room playing a video game, Joey noticed his sister moving around the hall. She hummed softly to herself as she bustled back and forth.

"Hey sis, what'cha doin?" he asked her.

"I'm just getting ready to go out, that's all," she replied with a smile.

"Wat? Yer gettin' ready awfully slow fer just going out somewheres. An' why are ya all dressed up all semi-formally and stuff?"

"Well, I'm actually going out on a date!"

"Wat!" Joey and Tristan spurted in unison as Joey paused the game.

"Why didn't ya tell me sooner?" Joey asked sternly. "Why are you goin out on a date?"

"Who are you going with?" Tristan joined, sticking his face between the two. "What's his name? What's he like?"

"Git yer nose outta this, Tristan!" ordered Joey, shoving his face away.

"I'm going out to dinner with Dolimus, and because I knew you'd overreact." She answered with a cocky wink and smile, sticking her tongue out a bit. "I'll be back later, Joey! Later, Tristan!"

With that, she went down the stairs and exited the house. Joey and Tristan stood in place, stupefied.

"Actually, I think I coulda handled it a bit better by stopping her." Joey observed.

"I think I could have handled it for you," Tristan argued.

"I think _you_ handle it just fine by keeping out of it!"

"We're coming _here?_" asked Serenity in surprise as they arrived at a local restaurant.

"Yes, this is a particular favorite of mine, to be honest," replied Dolimus.

"Now I see why you asked me to look nice for tonight…"

They had gone to a local authentic Italian restaurant. It was rather formal for what Serenity was used to.

"How could you ever afford this?" she asked in awe. "This is… it's like a dream, but in reality!"

"My father is a bit wealthier than what you would probably think," he laughed.

"What does you father do?"

"My father? Uh… he is a professional card player."

"Really? What game does he play?"

"All kinds, really. He's what they call a jack of all trades. His confidence and intellect are envied by all who meet him."

"Wow… may I meet him sometime?"

"Er… maybe. Uh, we should get our seat."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Hm?"

"You seem a bit flushed."

"Oh, I'm just a bit warm in here, that's all. This atmosphere kills me, ha ha."

Serenity simply giggled in response. Within a few minutes, they were seated near a window and began searching the menu for their order. Serenity gazed out the window for a moment.

Outside stood a large, beautiful water fountain. In the water and around the structure were lights, focusing on the fountain, radiating a spectacular beauty through the darkness. Around it was a flower garden with paths lined with dim lights.

"Wow… this place is so beautiful…" she admired, becoming lost in the artwork.

"Yes, it is the main reason I come here. I am fascinated with beautiful scenery."

"I can understand."

"You seem to perfect it tonight."

"Wha…!"

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say that out loud…" Dolimus said, turning his head away, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh, it's okay. I just… no one's really told me something like that before." Serenity began to blush.

"I see… I fail to see why. You are a very beautiful girl."

Serenity remained silent, her face a crimson hue. She looked away, toward the floor, smiling warmly. She could hardly make eye contact with him.

"Hello sir, madam, may I take your order?" asked a waiter, who had just approached them. He looked toward Dolimus.

"Yes, I would like today's special, if you don't mind," the young man responded.

He looked to Serenity and she ordered the same.

The waiter scurried away, and Serenity looked over to Dolimus. It was then that she had finally noticed his entrancing light blue eyes, fixed on her. She became lost in them, and the two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

Snapping out of her trance, she nodded and nervously looked away, observing the restaurant.

"So, I guess you like the restaurant so far?"

"Yes, I do… This is a wonderful place; I only wish I could come here more often…"

"In time, I'm sure you will."

The two chatted for another thirty minutes until their food arrived. They enjoyed more conversation as they ate, and before long, prepared to leave.

Dolimus left his payment on the table and the two left the restaurant. Rather than walking towards his car, Dolimus gestured for her to follow him around the building.

"Where are you going?" she asked, curiously following.

"Look," he said, pulling a bush aside to reveal the fountain she had seen earlier.

"Wow…" he murmured, and strode along the lighted walkway towards the fountain.

"The railing here provides a nice place to sit," he added. "I like to sit here sometimes and watch the stars above. The lighting around here is perfect, bright enough to see, but not enough to drown out the true beauty of the heavens."

Looking upward, Serenity frowned. "If only it weren't so cloudy tonight…"

"Yes, they called for clear skies tonight. I suppose not everything can go as planned, yes?"

She nodded and sat next to him on the fountain railing.

"I suppose you enjoyed tonight?" he asked, intently.

"I did, very much. Thank you, Dolimus."

"It is more than my pleasure. I suppose we should be going, then?"

"Look! The sky is clear now!"

Looking up, Dolimus smiled. "Ah… A break in the clouds… Perfect."

They sat in silence for a minute or two and admired the stars. Once more clouds came, Serenity stood up.

"Yes, it's getting a little late. I should get home before Joey has a bigger fit, hee hee," she mentioned.

"He knows?"

"Yeah, I told him."

"Ah… I have a hunch that he doesn't take too kindly to friends of you, no matter who they are."

"He's just a little overprotective of me. Typical older brother!" she giggled.

"Ah, I see. But it is good to have a brother that would defend you from anything. I, myself, would know…"

"Do you have a brother?"

"I did… but I don't like talking about it. I'd rather not— at least not right now, if you don't mind."

"I understand. But if you ever decide you want to talk about something… you can always talk to me."

Dolimus looked at her forlornly for a moment, and let out a weak smile.

"Thank you," he said softly.

She smiled in return, and the two stared at each other. Suddenly, Serenity jumped up.

"Oh! Here we go again!" she laughed. "If we keep this up, I may never get home!"

Dolimus stood up, chuckling. "Yes, let's go. I wouldn't want Joey to bust another artery over our little tonight."

She smiled and followed him back to his car, whereupon he drove her home.

They approached the front door of the house and stopped at the doorstep.

"I enjoyed tonight… a lot," Serenity said to Dolimus.

"I did too, I'm glad we went. I'm also glad you had a good time," he replied, a slight smile on his face. He reached and held her softly around her shoulders, staring deep into her peaceful eyes. He appeared a slight bit distressed.

"Are you okay… Dolimus?" she asked him, concerned.

"Yes, I fine, it's… nothing." He replied recovering, and grabbed her hand. Lifting it up, he kissed it. "Thank you for making the evening brighter. Perhaps we could go again?"

"I'd love to," she answered, bowing a bit.

He smiled and walked back to his car.

"_You betta run!_" Joey screamed from a window on the next floor. As Dolimus turned to look at him, he recovered. "Uh, I mean hey Dolimus! How's it goin? Heheh…" He sucked his head back inside and shut the window.

He shrugged, got in his car, and drove away. Serenity watched him until he had left her sight and proceeded to step inside.

"So, how did yer date go?" asked Joey, a slight sternness in his voice.

"I… I think I'm in love with him…" she answered with her kissed hand over her heart.

Joey's jaw dropped as he stared at his love struck sister in shock.


	5. Chapter 5

**Greetings, all! It has recently come to my atention thanks to Amazoness Archer that my story would be easier to follow had it lines to separate the scenes. The reason why I haven't put lines in to separate the scenes is because fanfiction is being weird about it. I've been uploading my files as Word Documents, and they have already had the lines in there to separate the scenes, and somehow they have disappeared into nothingness between my computer and the server. Ah, well. I shall go back and correct these grievous mistakes in time, but until then, I'll simply quickly revise the fic and put the lines in via fanfiction. Also, there are times when a character in the story will say something ending in '!' and fanfiction will for reasons unknown omit the question mark. Just thought I'd point that out. And now, to respond to my reviewers!**

**Xover-girl: Okay!**

**DarkElf6: Ya got three more chapters to look forward to, then! Lol, glad you're enjoying it.**

**Jellybob 15: Wait, since it's established that we hate each other, that means we're allowed to flame each other! Your reviews are crap because they don't have any Yami and Tea in the same bed in them! Nyah! Okay, I'm done flaming. I've been getting praise from people for my representation of Joey, and I'm real happy to hear that I'm doing a good job with him. He is a favorite character of mine, ya know!**

**Amazoness Archer: It's so weird... I never intended there to be any romance... It just kinda happened. Everything was going and then as soon as Dolimus and Serenity saw eh other for the first time, I thought to myself, "Uh-oh. This is gonna make things lots more interesting."**

**Rice Kracker: Glad to hear you approve my rendering of Joey! Really boosts my confidence, eh? There are some questions rising about Dolimus, but I have this entire fic so intricately mapped out that all questions regarding his character will be answered in due time. Until then! ...And don't worry, future chapters will show that you have nothing to fear in regards to Tristan. ;)**

**DarkElf6: It's weird how things are working between the two, ain't it? I seriously never saw it coming.**

**Alright, anyways, that concludes this chapter's responses. Again, everyone, thanks for reading, thanks even more for reviewing! This is Baron, over and out! Enjoy!**

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 5

The following day, an interesting subject was brought up in English, fourth period. Dolimus, Yugi, Tristan, and Joey all shared this class.

"I'm sure you've all heard of the epidemic and panic that has been spreading around?" the teacher asked the class.

"Who hasn't?" answered a student. "The strange illness?"

"Exactly. Doctors have noticed an oddly large amount of strange cases in which kids around your ages are developing increasingly photosensitive skin, and getting sick from any food they eat. Their physical strength increases, and thusly doctor's are suggesting that the illness is acting as some sort of steroid hormone, which would fool the immune system into not attacking it. That means that theoretically, if you catch this illness, you cannot get rid of it. What doctors are finding strange is that in every case that this is occurring, there are two odd puncture marks typically on the side of their neck or collar. They believe it may be a strange new form of rabies being spread by a wild animal."

"Why don't they just ask the victims about it?" Tristan asked.

"Normally they would, but the victims don't remember a thing from the previous night. Not a single one has a clue."

"Dis is weird! Sounds almost like a vampire's loose in Domino!" Joey joked. The entire class laughed with him.

Yugi looked behind him and noticed Dolimus. He simply sat there with an eyebrow cocked, watching the teacher.

"Mr. Wheeler, I'm sure there aren't any vampires here in Domino," the teacher patronized him.

Joey then also noticed Dolimus not laughing.

"Hey, Dolimus, why ain't ya laughing? It's funny! You're actin like _you're_ da vampire, ha ha ha! Ya sure are pale enough for it!" he continued.

Dolimus turned to him and said, "Tell me Joey, if you are Japanese, then why is your accent stereotypically attributed to New York, in America?"

The class laughed harder, and Joey gave him a very straight face.

"Dat's not funny," he stated. Dolimus gave him a smirk as he turned back around.

* * *

Later on, in Social Studies, sixth period, one of the students presented their current events report. They had chosen the article about the disease moving around Domino. As another student ventured to the front of the class, their teacher spoke.

"What is your report about?" she asked him.

"I chose the recent robbery of the hospital," he replied.

"You know, that's a very interesting story, I skimmed over that the other day. Go ahead."

Clearing his throat, the boy began.

"Recently, police were investigating a recent break-in at the hospital in which many pints of blood were stolen from the blood bank. They couldn't find any sort of evidence to track down the perpetrator with, and can't find any witnesses."

The boy continued on for some time, whereupon as he finished, he received a round of applause.

"What do you all think could be a possible motive for stealing blood from the blood bank?" the teacher asked the class.

"A vampire!" shouted Joey from outside the classroom, walking by with a hall pass.

Yugi snickered with the class.

* * *

_Yami, are you alright?_ thought Yugi to the nameless pharaoh as he ambled home from school.

_Why do you ask?_ he replied.

_Well, you've been very quiet lately._

_I've just been thinking…_

_About what?_

_About recent events, really. The attacks, the robbery at the bank…_

_Oh, about the animal?_

_No, not the animal, Yugi. You may call me crazy, but I do think there is a vampire lurking nearby._

_What? Don't be silly! Vampires aren't real, ha ha ha!_

_Yugi, trust me on that they indeed do exist. They are here, only in shadow._

_What? But they're just movie monsters…_

_Yugi, vampires are an actual myth that cannot be proven either true or false to this very day. However, I do know the truth._

_But Yami, how could you know if you lost your memories?_

_As we come closer to unlocking the secret of the Millennium Puzzle, visions have been coming to me, but not always during our duels. Every so often, I will be reminded with a glimpse of the past. Much of it is still shrouded in mystery, but one of my visions did include a vampire attack. I remember that long ago vampires had migrated into Egypt and began an infestation. It took many years, but over time, we were able to successfully weed them all out._

_So you think there's a vampire loose in Domino?_

_I'm pretty sure. The descriptions match perfectly, and the fact that the attacks started out small and are increasing with number over time support that only one or two vampires have come here._

_I see… but what could we do about it?_

_The reason why vampires are thought to have never existed is because they were all thought to be destroyed. Apparently, not all of them had been vanquished. None of the others would believe us, so while we could try to tell them, I doubt we'd receive much support._

_Okay… well, I suppose we could start with Joey._

_That would be a good bet. His fear of the supernatural may help sway him to our side._

_Alright! But wait, what can we do about it? I mean, if you're right about the whole vampire thing, then I'm sure they'll be pretty dangerous._

_They are. However, I couldn't help but notice some facts about them that aren't exactly true. The only supernatural powers that they possess is amazing strength, the ability to hypnotize, and their bodies can take hundreds of years before they finally start to break down and die of old age._

_So they can't turn into bats or terrifying creatures?_

_That's all story and movie magic, I'm happy to say._

_Okay, then!_

_Vampires' brains also tend to develop at an alarming rate. As a result, a lot of them can be dastardly intelligent and cunning. That will make them even harder to extinguish by ourselves._

_Okay, so should I call Joey after my homework's done?_

_That could work._


	6. Chapter 6

**Greetings, all! I have returned for another yummy chapter to Darkness Absolute! From here on in... things get really good. I promise! So without further ado, I present my Reviewer Responses, folloed by the sixth installment to the story!**

**DarkElf6: Heh, yep! He'd better not slip up lest he blow his cover.**

**Amazoness Archer: Yep, I mentioned you twice; once for each capital letter A. Last chapter wasn't very interesting, I understand. It simply gave way for more development and such. This chapter makes up for both itself and last chapter, so everything should be cool. Believe it or not, I personally don't like vampires. I just don't think they make good horror villains and such. I essentially wrote this as per my assignment for my fic duel I'm having with you. I decided to go straight back to the roots of vampire lore, and get rid of all the stupid gimmick powers they have, like controlling bats and having an animated shadow. It's odd, but it does almost seem like the story focuses on Dolimus. It's hard to say exactly where the perspective comes from, it kinda centers around them both, in a way.**

**John: Yeah, that look in my head... it was perfect, lol. By the way, not to really burst your bubble, but it was actually established that Dolimus is the vampire in the first and second chapters. **

**John: If Joey believes them, all right! Kicker is, what are they gonna do to exterminate the entire vampire populous in Domino? A lot of people have been attackedsince the illness is viewed as an epidemic.**

**Thunderstorm101: If you're caught up in the plot right now... wait 'till the end of this chapter. ;)**

**Jellybob 15: Interestingly enough, I'm surprised no one's worked up a spoof of Joey's obvious accent into a story. I'm rather proud of it! But yes, short chapter indeed. This one makes up for this and last chapter.**

**That covers them all! Now then, readers, enjoy! ...I COMMAND YOU!**

* * *

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 6

"Yo! Who's dis?" asked Joey, picking up the phone.

"Hey Joey, this is Yugi," responded his friend.

"Hey Yuge, what's up?"

"Hey, I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay, if dis has anything ta do wit the pencil and da keyboard—"

"No, it doesn't. Look, this is serious, Joey, I need you to listen. I was talking to Yami earlier, and… he thinks you might not be too far off with the vampire theory."

"Ha, ha, ha… you mean regardin de attacks?"

"Yeah… all the evidence suits the theory correctly, with the bite marks, the resulting photosensitive behavior, et cetera…"

"Well sorry ta burst yer bubble, but didja know that there are middle-aged women displayin da same symptoms? Tell me what vampire is gonna go for a middle-aged woman when dere's plenty of young meat around here, if ya know what I mean."

"I guess…"

"Yeah, I mean, I may be scared o' ghosties and stuff, but come on… even I know a make believe monstas from da real ones."

"You mean like the infernal winged rabbit of Tokyo University?"

"Exactly… now da evidence supporting dat one far outweighs what ya got against dese vampires."

"All they have is a stuffed rabbit with 'BELIEVE' written on its belly in magic marker…"

"An' all you got is a few bite marks on people's necks, and a sickness resulting in vampire-like behavior!"

"Um… okay. Well, I'll give it some more thought. Please at least consider believing it, though. Think about everything first."

"Yeah."

"Okay, talk to you later!"

"Yeah, I'll see ya around, Yuge!"

_He didn't put up any kind of working argument at all… Why did you give in?_ Yami thought to Yugi.

_Because he doesn't believe me and whether I prove him wrong or not, he's still going to argue,_ Yugi thought and chuckled in reply.

Yugi approached the door and rang the doorbell. Within moments, it opened up to reveal Téa, in her pajamas.

"Hello, Yugi…" she gurgled. She didn't appear to feel too well.

"Wow, Téa! Is this why you weren't in school today?" Yugi gasped in reply.

"Yeah, I've been feeling sick all day. I can't seem to keep anything down."

"Wow… well, I was just dropping by to say hi, see why you weren't in school and stuff."

"Oh, okay. Well, that was awfully nice of you. Come on in," she said, opening the door and walking slowly back to a bed she had made on the couch.

Yugi shut the door behind him and took a seat in a nearby chair, facing the television with Téa.

"So, how was your day?" she asked him, intently.

"Well, it wasn't bad, I guess. Heard about the attacks on the news in school today…"

"Yeah, those are going around," Téa said, readjusting herself in her seat.

"Yeah, Yami's on to something, though. He thinks it could be the work of a vampire, he says that they exist from long ago."

Téa got up and starting moving to him.

"Really?" she asked. She appeared to be faking an interest.

"I know you don't really believe me, so I'll just move on…"

"Okay, then. I'm really sorry Yugi, but I know Yami is very wise and all, but honestly. _Vampires?_"

Yugi weighed his options. Téa then stopped in front of him and bent down, just a bit.

"But Yugi… there is something I do have to tell you," she mentioned.

"What's that?"

"Well, I've been meaning to say this for some time, but I haven't really known how to get it out…"

"Oh, you can tell me anything, Téa."

"I want you…"

Yugi waited for her to finish her sentence, and realized that she was finished.

"Wh-what?" he asked, flushing a deep red.

She sat down in his lap and laid over top of him, resting her chest just below his head.

"I can make you feel good… if you want me to," she told him as he began sweating profusely.

She stroked his cheek lightly, and kissed it. She then lifted his head up and moved toward his neck.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed bared fangs on Téa and threw her off, screaming. He quickly got out of his chair and made a mad dash for the door.

In a flash, Téa leaped across the room, landing in front of the door and blocking Yugi's path. She turned and looked at him with a sick smile.

"I've been like this for weeks, Yugi… it feels great," she spoke. "The only problem is that I need blood… I want your blood… Come on, Yugi… join me and I can make you feel good every day for hundreds of years to come..." A sorrowful look came over her face as she plodded closer to Yugi as he backed away, afraid. "What's the matter, Yugi? Only one quick bite and it will all be over with… You don't want me to die early, do you?"

"I… I…" he stumbled incoherently.

"I'll die without blood, Yugi… Come on, let me help you experience your wildest fantasies… I know you want my body…"

She slowly began to unbutton her top. Upon unfastening the second button, she quickly shot towards Yugi, throwing him back, slamming against a wall. She forced his head up and reared her head back for a strike.

Suddenly, Yugi found the ability to scream, "_Téa, please don't!_"

She stopped en route to Yugi's neck, and appeared to have come to her senses. She shook her head and let him go prior to dropping to her knees and beginning to cry.

"Yugi…" she sobbed. "I-I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay," he said, shakily patting her back.

"Sometimes I just get these desires when I'm around people… I can't control them, and this is the first time I ever really attacked anyone… I've been like this for some time…"

"Why don't you tell someone? Surely a doctor could—"

"Yugi, I'm becoming a _vampire!_ Like they'd believe that? You can't tell anybody!"

_I have an idea,_ Yami spoke within Yugi's mind. _If we can kill the vampire that bit her, the curse on her and all of his victims will be broken, as will his victim's victims, and so on, in an infinite chain reaction. The catch, however, is that if the vampire dies of natural causes, the curse will remain in effect forever, negating all chances of curing his or her victims. This is primarily how they reproduce._

"Téa, who was it that bit you initially? I have to know!" Yugi demanded, heeding Yami's sage advice.

"I don't know, I don't have any recollection at all of what happened… All I can remember is something about some kind of date I went on…"

Just then something struck inside of Yugi's head.

_A vampire bite can erase up to twelve hours of memory… Yugi, are you thinking what I am?_ thought Yami to Yugi.

_I think I am, and I bet you just confirmed it! Dolimus is dating Serenity! Dolimus is the vampire!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello there, readers! SURPRISE! Got a new chapter up in the very next day! I mean, sure I'm probably doing this out of spite, since I already have much more than three chapters after this one already done and ready to post, but this is another plot advancement chapter anyways. Besides, after this capter, things get very... VERY good. It only gets better from here! So, as per habit, responses first, then the good stuff!**

**xxxShadow Angelxxx: Yes, vampire brains hold the key to the information needed to RULE THE WORLD!**

**DarknessLady: Glad to hear I managed to grab a loyal reader, even this late in the story:/ Spread the word, I sure could use the popularity. Perhaps I could bring some glory to the old-fashioned adventure fic genre Iwrite of. ahem Anyways, you know, one could probably relate Téa's unfortunate accident to an earlier chapter which aroused said suspicion...**

**Thunderstorm101: Yep, so now they must either kill a friend or allow another's life to be destroyed by the curse of the vampire. This chapter's good, but next chapter gets oh, so much better,**

**John: Yep, those be the signs of your typical vampire movie. And yep, whether it was known or not, you got it right! And no one can ever take that pride away from you. Rock on!**

**Amazoness Archer: Too soon? Really? I mean, I waited a week before I posted chapter 6... That seemed long enough to me. Now, if what you want is too soon, then... gestures toward chapter 7 This here is way too soon. I think you just don't want me to finish my entry for our fanfiction duel before you even start yours. ;) As for the sexual hints, you should have known it was going to happen... Vampires use seduction to lure their prey in before they strike, that way they can make a stealthy attack and get away silently, then they won't have to worry about the random factor of just leaping on the victim. Téa was not necessarily going to dive into Yugi's pants, she was trying to lull him into a sense of security so that she could make a strike. Since it didn't work, however, she resorted to plan B and just pounced on him. Also, I'd like to apologize in advance, there is no other pairing in this story. I didn't even intend to have romance when I first started writing the story, it just kind of happened, and no other romances have developed in the fic to this day, and I've only got a couple chapters to go. However, I already made a promise to Jojo that I have a feeling I'll live to regret. **

**Alright, and there goes my reviewer responses! Thanks again for the comments/concerns/suggestions, etc.! Before you fall asleep, I present to you the extra chapter. By the way, I wonder now... how many of you read everyone's reviewer responses, as opposed to simply reading your own? Random question, is all.**

* * *

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 7

The next day in art class, Yugi watched Dolimus very closely. He returned Yugi's gaze, perturbed.

_I should have known… Look at those eyes,_ Yugi thought to Yami. He was very disturbed by the whole matter. _Those piercing blue eyes…_

_Yugi, calm down. Vampires can't be identified by their eyes. There's no way of telling unless you look at the clues, and even then, I would have expected them to be extinct by now,_ his friend thought in reply.

_I bet he hypnotized Serenity with those eyes. I can't believe he's our enemy, he's so cool to be with…_

_He is a pleasant person to be around, but his evil can't continue, especially with Serenity. We will have to be very careful in how we approach him._

_Dolimus… I'm so sorry… Who was it that bit you?_

In Dolimus's Tech Ed class, it was revealed that the student whose seat he had sat in was on vacation elsewhere in Japan for a few days.

Serenity once again unknowingly occupied Dolimus's seat, and Dolimus filled the absentee's seat. Joey watched the two like a hawk.

Joey noticed Dolimus begin to write something on a piece of paper as the teacher began his lecture. When he was finished, he folded it up and slipped it to Serenity. Joey snatched it from Serenity's hand, crumpled it up, and popped it in his mouth, swallowing it whole.

After hacking a bit, he played it off, whispering, "Name someone else that can do _dat!_" He nudged her elbow and looked up to see the teacher staring at him oddly.

"Mr. Wheeler, did you just…?" he asked.

"Wat?" he asked stupidly.

"Joseph, I can respect your traditionally voracious appetite, but I'd appreciate it if you limited your intake to more… edible substances, at least in my class."

The class chuckled at him and their lesson continued.

Joey glanced over and caught Dolimus, still staring at him, eyes wide. Serenity raised her eyebrows at him.

"I got hungry," he said bluntly, and set his head down inside folded arms on his desk.

He soon heard whispering coming from his sister's direction. He peeked over and found the two whispering with each other while Dolimus took notes. The teacher excused their whispering for this reason.

Joey then blurted, "Hah! Yeah, I think so, too! Hey Dolly, tell me anotha! Wait, I didn't mean da Dolly part."

The teacher turned and looked at Joey in surprise. He looked at a flabbergasted Dolimus and relocated Joey across the room. Serenity surprisingly remained with Dolimus.

Joey sank back in his new seat and pouted. As he glanced back over at Serenity, he noticed her still whispering to Dolimus. She giggled softly and smiled at him.

"Dat's it," he muttered under his breath. "I'm going in."

He stood up on top of his desk, crying out "Come on, guys! Rubba band war!" and plucked a rubber band he found nearby at Dolimus, who with lightning reflexes, caught it out of the air and stood up, staring at Joey.

The teacher quickly blundered behind the television stand for cover without turning around.

The entire class froze and stared at Dolimus, who began quickly folding a fragment of a piece of paper in a peculiar fashion.

"You know, Joey, if you're going to _try_ to irritate people," he stated calmly, loading the paper on the rubber band and wrapping it around his index finger and thumb. "You could at least do it a bit more conservatively."

He then pulled his newly constructed paper hornet back and launched it at Joey, stinging him between his eyes.

"Ack!" he cried, and rubbed the impact site with the inside of his index finger.

"Saves you a lot more ammo that way, and if you come prepared, you have a seemingly endless supply," finished Dolimus, a cocky grin on his face.

The class laughed, and the teacher came out from hiding, red-faced. Dolimus attempted to explain himself, but both he along with Joey received referrals and were sent to the main office.

En route, Joey stopped.

"Hey Dolimus, we gotta talk, man," he said.

"You launched the band at me first, you were asking for it. No hard feelings here," his friend answered in reply.

"No, it's about Serenity…"

"Hm? What's the matter, Joey?"

"Well… don't ask me why, don't ask me how, but… I jus' don't think you should be hanging out wit Serenity anymore."

"I don't understand."

"Well, I just… please, just don't hang around her no more."

"Joey, I can read you like an open book. I know why you were doing those things back in the classroom."

"You did— I mean, well…"

"Tell me Joey, don't you think that you may be a bit… overprotective of her?"

"Wat? Neva!"

"Well, look at it this way. I understand you worry about your sister, I respect that. However, you don't want to worry about her too much. What would you want more, for her to life a life of always being safe, always protected and sheltered from the world around her, or to actually live a life, to experience things, take risks… follow her heart?"

"Dat's easy, I'd go wit da first one."

"Uh… okay, what do you think would make her happier?"

"Da… second one?"

"Okay, now what do you want more for her, what you want or what would make her happiest?"

"I really just want her to be happy, and not get hurt from anything."

"Well, in order to do that, you need to stand behind her, not in front of her. Don't hold her hand, she's a big girl. Offer advice instead, she respects your opinion as much as she does you."

Joey stood for a moment and absorbed the words. After a few moments, he solemnly nodded his head.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I've been a big blockhead, eh?"

"Let's not go that far, shall we? So, I assume I can be around Serenity again?"

"Yeah, I guess so! She knows what she's doin!"

"Great! I suppose this is as good a time as it's going to get to tell you that I'm in love with your sister."

"_Wat?_"


	8. Chapter A

**I have a rather interesting chapter for you guys today. It isn't what neither you, the readers, nor I expected. Read on to find out why... First, review responses.**

**DarkElf6: That's good old Joey for you, lol.**

**DarknessLady: Some people theorize it's just a ploy... just to give you something to think about. ;)**

**Thunderstorm101: Don't worry about the story being affeted, it's actually completely finished being typed! I find your reasoning very intriguing, though! Please, you must tell me more sometime...**

**Amazoness Archer: You really think one week is too short? But... but Jellybob was updating 'Just A Night' weekly, and I don't think you yelled at her... And... and... Yu-Gi-Oh! shows new episodes once a week, too! About the fanfiction duel, you know I'm just teasing you, lol. Go at your own pace, I'll patiently wait. Think about Téa for a minute, though... she's being turned into a vampire. They lust for blood, for vital nutrients needed to survive. This in turn is going to arouse a carnal vampiric instinct inside of her to seduce a prey to eat, as she had (according to hints) not eaten all day. The promise does involve Yami/Téa. With my stories, I seem to have a tendency to make my readers say the darnedest things, lol. Glad to get not only your approval, but a compliment seldom heard from you!**

**John: You trying to tell me something, buddy? ;) My apologies if I ever offended you. **

**Rice Kracker: Yep! Most all questions are answered in my fics, but some of them just require a little thought and logic.**

**Rice Kracker: Téa's morality steadily declines as she is afflicted by the vampire's curse... The only good thing for her right now is that should she survive long enough for her brain to develop at its new accelerated rate, she can control herself as much as Dolimus can. The Google text ads actually choose their subjects based on key words found on the page, that's why you saw the ad. Yep, Tristan definitely can't be ruled out, as perhaps Ribbon was also afflicted by Dolimus... ;)**

**Rice Kracker: Joey's the reason most school supplies are non-toxic, lol... Actually, the teacher was just hiding because he was expecting a rubber band war, lol.**

**People speculate about Dolimus's faith, but you just don't KNOW, do ya? What do you guys think about the whole thing? You think he's genuine, or do you think he just wants a slice of Serenity neck? Anyways, on with the... chapter, not story. Chapter.**

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 8

The next morning as Dolimus marched off to school, he was confronted by a man about his height. He had dirty-blonde colored hair, parted in the middle, and sported a dull grey T-shirt with dark blue jeans that sagged over his white sneakers just a bit.

"Dolimus? Heh, you look really cool. I really gotta thank keeper-of-the-triforce somehow..." said the man.

"Do... I know you from somewhere?" he asked cautiously.

"Well technically, you don't. Call me Dennis, I'm the author of this fanfiction."

"Hm? Certainly nice to meet you," he said, coming out of his shell and shaking Dennis's hand. "Keeper-of-the-triforce?"

"Same, same. Well, Keep for short."

"Internet handle, I assume?"

"Exactly. Look, an issue has come up-- a big one, and I think you should know about it as soon as possible."

"What's the matter?"

"My laptop officially fried on me. The place where I plug in the AC power is now spitting sparks at me, and I only have one possible way to access the files on the hard drive and keep these fanfictions going."

"What way is that?"

"I basically need to get a whole new laptop where my current piece of crap's hard drive is compatible with it."

"I see, and laptops run rather high-priced, hm?"

"They are, and I need some help if I'm going to get it as quickly as possible."

"I do attend school... you should know, you are the author, right?" asked the vampire with a playful smirk.

"Funny guy, you are," Dennis observed, returning the smirk. "But as long as I can't get the fanfiction up and running, time is basically frozen here and in every other fanfiction I'm doing."

"I see... well, is there any way I can help?"

"That's pretty much why I came here. I already managed to get Baron Von Stupor and Packrat from 'Pokémon Grey: Special Baron Von Stupor Edition' as well. In fact, I borrowed this other telepipe off of him."

"...Telepipe?"

"Yeah, this will transport us back to my city, and then when we're ready to ome back, it will transport you back to the spot I activated it at."

"Well, since time is frozen, I suppose I should try and do something to help, right?"

"'Twould be a good idea, my friend! You ready?"

"Let me just unload my extra luggage near this tree and I'll be set."

"Alright."

Dennis activated the telepipe and it burst into many beams of light and shone into the ait, forming a tube of radiance.

"That is a very beautiful item," complimented Dolimus.

"Yeah, saved my butt in 'Phantasy Star Online' plenty of times, too."

The two stepped into the mystic portal and were whisked away to Dennis's world.

**Unfortunately readers, it's true. My laptop has seriously stopped working and it's going to take at the very least about a month and a half to fix the situation. I'll further the story with filler chapters in 'Pokémon Grey: Special Baron Von Stupor Edition' to give everyone a glimpse of my progress as I recover from this stupid freaking coincidental event. I guess the forces of nature again aren't with me. TT**


	9. Chapter B

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter B

After much persuasion, Dennis was able to convince his grandmother, Kay, to allow Von Stupor, Packrat, and Dolimus to stay in her house until Dennis was able to recover his fanfictions. While Dennis slept downstairs in his room, Dolimus stayed in the adjacent guest room, linked by a large rec room while Von Stupor and Packrat slept in the upstairs guest room, adjacent to Kay. After a week, the four all met downstairs in the rec room to discuss their current game plans and progress.

"...You guys have nothing?" said Dennis forlornly.

"I can hardly go anywhere where they will allow my mask to stay on... 'Tis impossible to do anything!" whined Von Stupor.

"You could always just take the mask off, it's not attached to your face."

"'Tis not? The curse is lifted?"

"Gah..." mumbled Dennis, slapping his forehead. "I forgot, you're not Von Stupor from 'The Masked Duelist', you're Von Stupor from 'Pokémon Gray'... I never went into detail on your mask yet. Not sure if it'll be attached or not..."

Von Stupor simply stared.

After a moment Dolimus spoke up.

"...I'm trying to find a job somewhere that doesn't involve a lot of sunlight, since I'll get very sick from it."

"Very sick?" Packrat repeated. "What, are you photosensitive or something?"

"You could say that. Anyway, it's not easy getting a job when you don't have a proof of identity or eligibility to work in the United States. This place seems so demanding, and yet it has to be this way?"

"So it seems," agreed Dennis. "Well, for you guys, employment is pretty much impossible, then. What about odd jobs, anyone?"

"Odd jobs? You expect me to do favors for someone I don't even know?" Packrat argued.

"It's the only way you're gonna make any money. Plus, with your current look, you'd be lucky to be pass off as a guy in a suit."

"Well, for your information, I happen to have joined a video game tournament held nearby. When I'm done winning that prize money, I'm going to leave you guys in the dust!"

"Don't count on it. My parents felt bad about the fact that they didn't have any money to do anything for my birthday, so they decided to forgive the back rent I owe them. Not to mention I just got a check from my old telemarketing job, which will pay off most of the cell phone bill I still owe my gramma."

"Impressive, and with your new job..." stated Dolimus.

"...You will be able to attain your new laptop rather quickly, it seems." Von Stupor finished for him.

"Well yeah, but my gramma also kind of surprised me with that brand new desktop computer, which renders my need for a new laptop null practically..." Dennis mentioned.

"I see, and you don't want to spend more money on something you only want to use once." inferred Dolimus.

"Exactly."

"Well, what if you simply rented one?"

"Already checked on it, I'd have to enter a two-year contract at around fourteen dollars a week. By the time I pay it off, I'd be paying more then double what I could get it for if I got it from Best Buy."

"Perhaps you could buy one, use it, and return it when you're done for a refund?"

"Maybe, maybe..." Dennis considered, stroking his chin. "Heh, you know guys, if you bet about thirty, you can have a good night at bingo where I work at. Never know, you might win something, eh?"

"'Tis true!" Von Stupor gasped.

"Don't make a habit of it though, right?"

"Come on, we're all responsible, mature beings here," joked Dolimus. He then smirked at Packrat, saying, "Well... at least Von Stupor, you, and I are, by my observations."

"Hey, I don't think you wanna take that any further," retaliated the rat, giving Dolimus a stink eye.

"Aw... come on, you'd benefit more by not taking everything so seriously."

Packrat simply looked away, a befuddled look on his face.

Dennis chuckled lightly and changed the subject. "Alright, so what are you guys' plans so far for raising money to gain access to my laptop's hard drive?"

"Why are we raising money to access your laptop's hard drive?" asked Von Stupor.

"Well, if there's no way I can access it myself, then I'll have to rely on data recovery specialists, and they can be kind of pricey. Either way, I'm going to do what it takes to recover all of my hard work."

"I see... well, I fear 'tis odd jobs for me. If no one shall hire me with my mask on, then I'll have to resort to other methods."

"I got that video game tournament coming up," voiced Packrat.

"When will that be?" Dennis asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, another week and a half, maybe."

Dolimus then announced, "I can't be hired because I can't legally prove my identity here, so it appears I'm doing odd jobs as well. However, I'll also attempt this bingo function you mentioned. There's no harm in wagering a small sum of my earnings."

"Excellent. I have my current job, so I'll be making some good pay off of that. I'll have my cell phone bill finally paid off on or around October fourteenth, that's when I'll get my first check. Since I already have a payment down on it anyways, I should have some money left over."

"You should factor in your rent," Dolimus reminded him. "When is your grandmother going to start charging you to live here?"

"Ahhhhh, I don't know. I'll ask her eventually. If she starts soon, it may be another two weeks before my money really starts working toward it, since I get paid every other Friday. This coming Friday I won't get paid since I just arrived, or I'll have a small check, which would still be good. So, I guess that covers everything? I have my job, Packrat has a tournament, and you guys have odd jobs?"

All agreed to his statement.

"Alright then! Meeting adjourned, I guess."

"Sooo, what now?" asked Packrat.

"Nothing left to do than hang out for now, I suppose."

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

The following week, Dolimus, Von Stupor and Packrat sat together in Dennis's room.

"I have no luck with odd jobs," mentioned Von Stupor. "Though I did manage to collect some donations from people on the street with my sign."

"You mean your sign that says 'Help My Friend Get A New Laptop to Complete My Story'?" asked Dolimus, a concerned look on his face.

"Indeed!"

"You mean people actually donated to that?" asked Packrat over his shoulder as he pounded away on his GameCube controller.

"No, it's just thirty-five cents I found on the ground whilst I walked back here. 'Tis better than nothing!"

"To an extent, anyway," Dolimus said, looking serious. "You know, I recall Dennis telling me about a friend of his helping with the carts at his job, with the manager paying him under the table. I believe I may be able to try that."

"Not a bad idea," Packrat complimented. "My tournament's up soon. You guys will get to see me kick some keester, eh?"

"I shall come. I have no obligatory commitments, unfortunately," agreed Von Stupor.

"I'll only be doing the night shift, and most likely only when Dennis is working, so I should be able to make it."

"He only works mornings, you silly man!"

"He closed last Sunday and he closes this Sunday, friend. Remember?"

"Ah, touché."

Just then, Dennis walked into the room.

"Hm?" he said, glancing at Packrat on the game.

"I took the liberty of hooking up your systems to this router for you," explained the rat. "Not out of niceness, of course, but because I wanted to play. I even got your cords all nice and bundled up, neat and organized."

"Wow... thanks, Packrat!"

"Yeah, don't mention it."

"So Dolimus, I heard you mentioning a night shift?"

"Yes, remember the friend you menitoned that helped out somewhere pushing carts and was paid under the table?"

"Oh, you mean Tony. Yep, I remember."

"Do you think I could do that when you close?"

"Ehhhh, maybe... let me see what I can do. Great idea, though!"

"Packrat, your tournament is..."

"Thursday after next," answered Packrat. "October 13."

"Alright, then, I'm actually off that day, so I can come with you."

"Awesome! Everyone can come and see me whip up on everyone there!"

"Uh... Just don't get your feelings hurt, dude. These guys are competitive, and do anything to win. I would know..."

"Pah! I'll teach them to be cheap with me! Watch me stomp them all!"

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

That night, Dennis and Dolimus sat upstairs watching a movie while Von Stupor observed Packrat training on Super Smash Bros. Melee.

"You're not in the least bit nervous, eh?" Von Stupor asked him.

"Why should I be?" he asked in reply.

"Well, you've been playing for four hours now, only doing one-on-one matches against the CPU, ever-refusing to change the rules for diversity."

"If I can't annihilate these guys, I won't be able to annihilate my opponents at the tournament either. This is how it has to be! No pain no gain, eh?"

"True... but as Leonard Nimoy once said in Seaman, if would didn't know better, one might assume you're quite obsessed, or that you have nothing better to do."

"Well if one didn't know better, one might assume you're quite dense, or that you have nothing more intelligent to say."

"That one... wasn't as good as some others--"

"I know, I was just throwing it back at you, leave me alone."

After sitting for a moment to process Packrat's request, he left the room and journeyed upstairs, into the kitchen.

"What are you watching?" he called in to them.

"'Terminator 2'," Dennis called back.

"Ah. Are they at the part where the mayor drinks the water full of tadpoles?"

After a brief moment, Dolimus spat out, "What?"

"Uh... I could have been thinking of a different movie."

Von Stupor popped some leftover spaghetti into the microwave and started it up. After a while, the two began to hear strange, erratic grunting coming from the kitchen.

"What are you doing in there?" asked Dennis casually.

"Waiting for the food to finish," the baron answered in between grunts.

Within a half of a minute, Kay came out to inspect everything to see Baron Von Stupor wiggling in circles in front of the microwave while grunting. She gave him a confused look and blurted out, "What the hell... are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for the food to finish," Von Stupor replied.

"You think dancing is gonna make it move faster?"

"It always does."

"Well, could you at least do it a bit quieter? I'm trying to hear my show."

"Ah. I shall rectify the problem!"

On her way past Dennis, she leaned down and mumbled into his ear, "Your Baron Von Stupor is... really weird!"

They both chuckled lightly and she went back to her room, calling back, "Don't forget to check all the doors, make sure they're locked before you go downstairs."

Dennis acknowledged and went back to watching the movie. He could still hear Von Stupor dancing quietly in the kitchen.


	10. Chapter C

**Sorry for taking so long. Here's some more development for you guys. I'm working as best as I can, and something has happened since this whole thing happened, so expect another update soon! Here are my reviewer responses, for now.**

**Thunderstorm101: You know what? I was just about to make backup copies of all my stuff too, just because my laptop _was_ unreliable. scowl**

**Amazoness Archer: Thanks for the subtle compliment. Well, I had to find a way to keep the readers updated on the progress of my bad luck recovery. TT Stupid misfortune...**

**john: ...Explain what?**

**And now, the 'story'!**

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"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter B

The day of the tournament had finally arrived. Being unofficial, the hosts never demanded any real proof of identity, so Packrat was able to enter without much delay. Due to the streaming sunlight coming through the windows, Dolimus had elected to stay behind after all.

"Hmmm..." he observed. "These people are pretty good."

"I'm telling you guy, they're not going to be a pushover," Dennis responded.

"I can't wait to face them!"

Von Stupor observed nearby players, apart from the group.

After roughly an hour, the tournament started. Packrat was placed in the third match.

"I certainly hope Packrat wins," mentioned Von Stupor to Dennis. "After Dolimus was unable to attend bingo for failure to show an ID, and I still have no odd jobs..."

"Don't feel bad, not many people trust someone who always wears a mask," Dennis replied with a smirk. "But I'm seriously pessimistic about this tournament."

Packrat stepped forward and prepared to face his opponent, a member of an elite group of 'Super Smash Bros. Melee' players. The match was to be set on Final Destination, with five lives and no items.

"Gah... Packrat's against the best of the best in the first match of the tournament..." groaned Dennis, covering his face.

The match started, and Packrat chose Sheik for his character. His opponent chose Falco.

Sheik waited for Falco to make the first move. Falco oddly enough began to hover across the arena, simply by crouching and standing up repeatedly.

"What the hell! What are you doing!" cried Packrat in shock. He had never seen anything like that before. His opponent remained quiet.

Sheik moved in for an attack and dodged behind Falco. Falco was ready and performed the Falco Split, knocking Sheik off balance. He was unable to recover before he hit the ground, and Falco hovered backward, scooping him back into the air with a Bird Sweep attack. He then hopped into the air and struck Sheilk with the reflector shield. Using his double jump, he hopped above the flailing Sheik and stomped him back down with a devastating Air Drill. As Sheik bounced from the impact of hitting the ground, Falco dropped back down quickly and knocked him back into the air with the Reflector. He continued this two move combo and by the time Sheik freed himself, he was nearly at 200 damage.

Panicking, Sheik retreated. Packrat was dumbfounded at what had just transpired.

Falco began to aggresively pursue Sheik. Within moments, a sneaky Roundhouse Kick slammed him out of the arena and KO'ed him.

Dennis watched forlornly as Baron Von Stupor was astonished.

This vicious cycle continued until Packrat's lives were completely depleted, costing him the match. He nearly dropped his controller in pure and utter shock.

He sullenly shook his opponent's hand and walked over to and past Dennis and Baron Von Stupor, an irritated expression on his face.

Dennis and Von Stupor looked at each other for a moment and walked out of the building in his pursuit.

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

"They crushed me!" ranted Packrat. "I might not mind it so much if they weren't so damn cheap!"

"I told you they were really good, Packrat..." Dennis reminded him.

"I didn't know they were _that_ good!"

"So essentially, we're back where we started," commented Dolimus.

They all sat in the rec room, at the back table, stumped.

Shrugging, Dennis said, "Guys, I'm at a loss. My work wouldn't let Dolimus help, Von Stupor can't get any odd jobs, Packrat didn't win the tournament, and I'm still paying crap off and my last pay stub had some sucky hours on it. I honestly have no clue how to speed this up."

Everyone sat and thought to themselves.

"This isn't as easy as I thought it would be," Dolimus muttered unser his breath.

"Tell me about it..." Packrat agreed. "Dennis, your real world sucks."

Dennis simply sighed.

"I guess we must simply wait things out? See what develops?" suggested Von Stupor.

"Yeah, let's take a break from trying and see what happens, maybe something will fall into our lap," Dennis concurred. "It's the only thing we _haven't_ done."


	11. Chapter D

**The story gets more positive here! YAY! I... never recieved any reviews. I think my craptop made me lose all by readers... TT Damn it all. Well anyways, here is the next chapter.**

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Darkness Absolute

By: Von Stupor

Chapter C

It had been two weeks since the tournament with no change in the situation of the laptop's malfunction. Dolimus, Von Stupor, and Packrat sat downstairs in the rec room, playing a round of the Donkey Kong board game.

"So what if we never get the laptop data back?" Packrat asked the other two as Von Stupor rolled the dice.

"I recall him saying he doesn't know if he'll retype everything or not. But then, will our stories be frozen forever?" Dolimus answered.

"Well, I sure hope not. I certainly don't want to stay _here_ for who knows how long, not when I've got a life of my own back in my fanfiction."

"Well," mentioned Von Stupor. "If he does send us back, wouldn't we be frozen in the fanfictions as well? I mean, the story cannot progress without that data..."

"It would pretty much be armageddon for us, our worlds would pretty much end," said Dolimus.

Just then, the door opened, and Dennis was heard shuffling around quickly. Within a couple minutes, he bound down the stairs.

"_Guys, we're in freaking luck!_" he happily bellowed. "Target is more of a blessing to me than I ever dreamed!"

"What has occurred?" asked Von Stupor, interested.

"There's this guy at my work, Sean, I used to know him from high school. He's got a laptop, and when he's free from his busy schedule, he said he'd stick my laptop into it to recover my stories!"

Everyone's faces brightened as they stood up, huddling toward Dennis.

"There's a catch though," he said, suddenly serious. "Now, I don't think it did... but there's a chance that my hard drive got corrupted thanks to the craptop, with the sparks and all. If it's not corrupted, the files are safe, and I'll have them all to myself. If it _is_ corrupted..."

"Our worlds will end," Von Stupor finished for him.

"Don't put it that way... But yes, it all comes down to this. I'm so sure the files are okay, but there's still a chance. Now, Sean said he can't help me at all this week, but hopefully, next week will bring us a nice simultaneous break that we can capitalize on getting those files."

"So this is it, the final gamble," said Packrat. "Who'd have thought that getting into Target would help you so much in the long run?"

"Wow... it's almost like the forces of nature are making up for all the crap I went through back then, ha ha."

"They sure are, first a better job, then better pay, now your files are being recovered..." Von Stupor acknowledged.

"Don't forget Keep!" interjected Packrat smugly.

"Hey, watch it," Dennis said, fighting a smirk.

"Nyah, someone's touchy about it. People usually are when they first fall in--"

"Okay look, that's not the purpose of this chapter," said Dennis loudly, cutting Packrat off, a slight laugh following. "It's ending right now!"

"_Dennis and Ke_


	12. Chapter E

**Here is the rest of the fluff, in the following four chapters. My laptop recovery has officially been successful, and in celebration of this wondrous event, I am posting TWO new chapters (in the normal storyline, of course) instead of just one, and I shall do all in my power to post a new chapter once a week on both stories! Unfortunately, review response has been officially deemed a sin on the site, though the alternative they gave us, I respect, so there are no complaints here! However John, because you must be a registered user, we cannot continue our conversation here. However, feel free to contact me through email, if you like! with all of that out of the way, I present to you the story!**

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"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter D

Dennis bound in the door after a long day of work to see Von Stupor and Packrat in the upstairs living room watching television.

"These TV shows aren't short enough!" ranted Packrat. "They're taking forever to go off and get the time to 7:00!"

"Today wasn't any slower at work, either!" Dennis agreed.

"'Tis only a matter of time before we finally go back from whence we came!" Von Stupor added.

"So, what should we do to pass the time?" Dennis asked.

"I'm too excited to do anything, we should just wait!" suggested Packrat.

And so the three sat, watching television. Shows came and went, and yet their attention was hardly spent on them, rather the upcoming arrival of Sean, the one who would finally recover Dennis's laptop data, thusly allowing him to finally resume posting his typed fanfiction. In time, 7:00 arrived, and so their pee-pee dancing had commenced. They eagerly sat and took turns peeking out the window. Dolimus would occasionally call up to request the status of Sean's arrival. Before long, a half hour passed, and the three had since stopped looking out the window.

"I think I'll sleep to help pass the time," Dennis thought, and laid his head down on the couch.

Suddenly, he woke up to hear his grandmother saying, "I don't think your friend is coming tonight."

The clock said 8:30. Packrat and Von Stupor were nowhere to be seen.

"Yeah, I guess so," replied Dennis, and went downstairs for the night.

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

The next day after work, Dennis had recieved an email from Sean.

""I'm really sorry, I got swarmed with homework,'" Dennis quoted the message to his guests in the basement. "He really had a lot of stuff to do, and couldn't show up. I probably ought to give him my contact info, ha ha."

"So that means we're not going back?" asked Packrat irritably.

"It means we can't _try_ to get you back _yet_."

"When will he try again?" Dolimus wondered.

"Who knows? But I'll wait as long as it takes."


	13. Chapter F

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter E

After work, Dennis came home and after a brief visit with his grandmother, sank back into the bowels of the house, Stuporia. He found there Dolimus and Packrat engaging in a game of Risk. Von Stupor merely spectated.

"I was the whipping boy!" he said to Dennis, proud.

"I've got some sort of bad news, everybody," Dennis mentioned, ignoring Von Stupor.

The two opponents paused their game to pay attention.

"Sean told me he thinks his laptop is going on him. He's having some issues with the motherboard and may have to call the company back out here to fix it. He did mention that after some fighting with it, he charged it up to last one more time, so we've gotta make this count. He said he's free this Wednesday, so what a coincidence. So am I! This thing will end on Wednesday."

Packrat gave a determined smile while Dolimus merely nodded his head.

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

As Tuesday rolled around, Dennis came home rather excited.

"Hey guys, guess what!" he asked them all downstairs. "I ran into my old youth group leader and a guy I know from the group today! The guy told me about a device called an exterior containment unit that can use a laptop hard drive like my regular old jump drive!"

"You're kidding me, and we waited all this time for _that?_ Let's go get one!" Packrat insisted.

"I'm going to, tonight! Who's coming with?"

"Isn't it obvious? We'll all come along," said Dolimus, smiling.

"Right, then! Let's go!"

"How're we all going to fit on your scooter?" Packrat asked.

"...Local bus service it is! Everybody grab a dollar from my change jar!"

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

As they all arrived at the local electronics store, Von Stupor pointed out the computer section.

"Well, I'm going straight for that exterior containment unit," commented Dennis, heading towards the computers. Everyone followed behind.

After browsing a bit, he managed to find one that rang up at forty dollars, half the advertised price.

"Today is a good day..." he said towards Dolimus and the cashier. "'Tis a good day indeed. Let's head home!"

OIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

As Dennis frantically ripped open the box for the drive, Dolimus carefully unfastened the laptop hard drive from its plastic container. Dennis stuck it inside the box and screwed it shut, followed by plugging it into his computer.

It was automatically detected by the computer, and did not need any software installed. As he pulled it up, there his files appeared!

"_Yes!_" Packrat shrilled in excitement.

"All right!" rooted Dennis. "Let's open them up to make sure they're not corrupted!"

Dennis attempted to access his username from the laptop and access was denied. he stared at the screen, confused. After a moment, something clicked.

He turned to everyone and said, "Mine own paranoia and distrust of the members of my family caused me to put lots of security on my computer. I ensured that only one who logs onto Windows XP under my username can access my files, and that is done by inputting a password at the startup screen. By browsing through Windows, I can't get to the startup screen and thusly cannot enter a password. Also, since this is a laptop hard drive, I can't replace my desktop's hard drive with this one so as to boot from it."

"Can you boot from the jump drive?" Dolimus asked.

"...That I do not know."

Dennis restarted his computer and routed the boot sequence to his USB port, but in vain.

Sighing, he said, "There's nothing we can do tonight. We'll just have to hope for the best tomorrow."


	14. Chapter G

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter F

"Get up!" Packrat commanded, slapping Dennis in his face while he was sleeping.

Dennis snapped awake and gave him a stink eye.

"Sean will be here anytime, so come on!" he commanded, indifferently.

He arose from bed and blundered upstairs. On the way, he noticed Dolimus sitting in the rec room.

"Why aren't you ever upstairs often?" he asked him.

"There's a lot of sunlight up there," he said.

"Oh, that's right. Okay then!"

He continued upstairs and sat in the living room, and within a half hour, Sean pulled up into the driveway while Dennis let the dogs out front.

After some greetings, he brought Sean inside. There he met Kay, Von Stupor and Packrat.

"You mean you seriously brought them--" he started, when Dennis cut him off.

"Don't bother asking, let's just keep going," he said, chuckling.

They all journeyed downstairs with the exception of Kay and headed into Dennis's room. Dolimus joined them.

"Alright, here we go!" said Dennis, extracting his hard drive from the exterior containment unit and handing it to Sean.

He popped it into his laptop and attempted to fire it up. Unfortunately, his laptop didn't detect the hard drive.

"Well, I guess it's time for my backup," he commented.

"Ah, you came prepared?" Dennis asked.

"Yep, I have Linux installed on my machine, so we can try it using that."

"Hmmm... since the files have password restrictions in Windows, would Linux detect them?"

"Nope, Linux bypasses all Windows password restrictions."

"Jawsome!"

He tried opening Linux, but it still didn't detect the hard drive.

"Bad things are not supposed to happen when we're this close. Why are they happening?" Packrat asked Dolimus impatiently.

"Just wait, we don't know it will work or not yet," Dolimus hushed.

"Looks like it's time for my backup backup," Sean decided, reaching into his bag.

"Backup backup?"

"Yep, I have another version of Linux, called Kinoppix, on CD."

"Perhaps if you loaded up your hard drive and used mine with the exterior containment unit?" Dennis asked.

Just then, Sean stopped.

"Wait... how did the hard drive go in?" he asked, flipping it up and down. "I feel so stupid, I might have put it in there upside-down... Well, if we try it this way..."

He stuck it in one way without Linux and the computer wouldn't recognize it. He tried the inverse and Linux still wouldn't recognize it. After thinking for a moment, he realized something.

"Look at the pins on my hard drive! Does yours have any jumpers on it?" he asked.

Dennis's search returned nothing.

"That's the problem, then."

Sean plucked the jumper off of his, which served as an extender for the pins and placed it on Dennis's hard drive. Loading it into his computer, it was finally recognized and accessible.

"This is it!" Von Stupor whooped. "We shall be home in no time!"

Then all of a sudden, Kinoppix wouldn't write the files to the jump drive due to permission restrictions.

"So you can access the hard drive, it just won't let you put them on the jump drive?" Dolimus asked him.

"Yes, but I don't know why it won't let me change the settings when I'm the root user! Or wait... am I? Hmmm..."

He hopped into the shell and tried to change the computer's root settings to that of the hard drive, but to no avail.

"Well," he said. "Does your computer have two CD drives on it?"

"Nope, just one."

"Damn, I thought so... I'd burn them to CD, but I have to keep my CD in the drive, since it's running off the CD."

"I have a computer with two drives at my _parents'_ house..."

"Yeah, but we're here and not at your parents' house..."

"Yeah... well, wait! Why don't I try loading Kinoppix on my machine and then copying them straight to my hard drive by using my laptop hard drive as a jump drive with the exterior containment unit?"

"That could work, let's try that."

After hooking up the necessary components, Dennis fired up Kinoppix to see it found both hard drives just fine. However, due to more unchangable permission restrictions, he couldn't copy it to his hard drive.

"I'm... stumped..." said Dennis, confused.

"Well, why not try loading Linux from his hard drive, then using the laptop hard drive hard drive as a jump drive, and since Linux can bypass the password restrictions, try loading it all to his hard drive and burn it to CD?" suggested Von Stupor.

"That will probably work, let's try it!" agreed Sean as he removed the jumper extender from the laptop hard drive prior to Dennis installing it back into the exterior containment unit.

Everything was then found perfectly fine and Sean began burning it all to CD.

"This is it..." Von Stupor said. "We are finally going home..."

"This is just what we've been waiting for..." Dolimus added. "Well Dennis, we're sorry we couldn't help... at all, ha ha."

"It's okay, really. I enjoyed just having you guys there with me." Dennis replied, smiling. "Let's all enjoy Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, as celebration, and then I'll take you all back home."


	15. Chapter H

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter G

After a hefty meal, everyone excepting Dolimus, who did not eat, was completely full. Sean thanked Dennis and his family for inviting him over and took his leave. Soon after that, Dennis walked Baron Von Stupor, Packrat, and Dolimus out back, towards the cobblestoned recession in the side yard, behind the wooden gate.

"I can't go with you," he informed them all. "because the telepipe only goes one way."

"Right, then," Von Stupor acknowledged. "I guess this is farewell, then."

"Well, yeah... I mean, you guys may still see me and all, but it's best you stick to your stories and I stick to mine, eh?"

"You're right," Dolimus said, nodding.

"Well, it was good staying here and all, until this whole thing got sorted out. Thanks for the hospitality!" Packrat thanked him.

"Not a problem, guys. I have the telepipes marked, so Dolimus goes through the pipe behind that stick that I stuck in the ground."

"It was nice meeting you all... good-bye," Dolimus said, and walked into the telepipe, disappearing with it.

"Can I have another cookie?" Packrat asked.

"Packrat, we must take our leave, we have much to do in Kanto!"

"Yeah, I know... All right then! See you around, Dennis!"

"See you later, guys..." Dennis bid them, waving.

Packrat and Von Stupor stepped into the telepipe and vanished along with it.

"Now that everything's back to normal, I can finally continue my writing..."

So ended their journey in the realm of their creator.


	16. Chapter 8

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 8

Dolimus reappeared in Domino and found his bag right where he set it down. Judging by the semi-dark sky, he noticed that no time had passed. Dennis had been right. He gathered his bag and contniued his day of school.

Joey refused to talk to Dolimus for the entirety of the day, or even acknowledge his existence.

Soon, it came time to leave school. Yugi caught up with Joey, who was walking home, rather than to Yugi's with the group due to Dolimus's presence.

"Joey! What's the matter?" Yugi asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about it," he stated.

"Joey, come on. It can't be that bad."

"Dolimus made me look like a fool, an' on top o' dat, he's got his stupid pretty boy eyes on Serenity!"

"Joey, I have to talk to you about him. He's not what you think he is."

_Yugi, you said he will not listen,_ thought Yami to his other half.

_I know, but for some reason, I think I can sway him this time,_ Yugi replied.

"What? There something fishy about him?" Joey asked sternly, grabbing Yugi by the shoulders.

"Joey… he's the vampire that's been prowling Domino! I bet he's the start of the whole thing!"

Joey stared at him for a moment, and stepped away, sighing.

"Yuge, now's not da time fer ghost stories, I'm shaken over him as it is."

"Joey, I'm not joking. I'm telling you, he's not what you would think he is. Think about it! He never eats any food, he's completely pale, he claims to be photosensitive (think about how he never exposes his skin to any natural light), and he has horrendous physical strength for someone his age and size…"

Joey stared at him for a moment.

"You're really startin ta creep me out, man. Quit it," he ordered.

"Joey, I think he got to Téa, too. She can't keep any food down; she also said that she gets sick if she's outside too long, she's growing photosensitive as well! She attacked me, Joey… I saw her fangs; you _have to listen to me!_" Yugi cried in a panic, shaking Joey by his arms.

"Okay, Yugi… ya got me considerin it now. Even dough I can't believe Téa attacked you, I'll give you da benefit o' the doubt. Suppose he is a vampire and is after Serenity. How do we stop him?"

"I don't know… but if we can prove he's a vampire to Serenity, I think we'll have a fighting chance."

Yugi and Joey discussed a strategy all the way back to Yugi's house.

"Say, how about anotha good old game of Truth or Dare, eh guys? Should be fun!" suggested Joey.

"Eh, sure why not?" Tristan said.

"If Tristan's in, than I'm definitely in." agreed Bakura.

"I'll play!" yipped Yugi. "Are you in, Dolimus?"

"Sure, I'm always up for a game, Yugi," he consented.

"I'll play too," Serenity added.

"Alright, I wanna go first!" Joey cut in. "And for my target, I choose… Dolimus!"

"Oh? Why Joey, you're talking to me again, how grand," joked the man. "I suppose I'll go with truth this time around."

"Okay, here goes! Have you ever _sucked blood before?_"

Dolimus about fell over, and looked at Joey with slight surprise upon recovery.

"You know, like have you drank it," Joey reiterated. "Ya look like ya have!"

"Well. I actually have tasted blood before, but then, what child hasn't? I'm sure we've all had a bloody nose before, and became curious."

The others nodded in agreement, and Joey and Yugi looked at each other.

Dolimus then said, "Now for my target, I'll choose Yugi."

"Okay. I'll choose dare."

"I want you to plant a nice, sensual kiss on Joey's neck."

"Wh-what!"

Everyone laughed while Dolimus leaned back smugly. "It's either your friend there or his sister. Either will be fine."

Serenity raised her eyebrows in surprise. Joey promptly grabbed Yugi by his head and shoved it into his neck, rubbing it around and nearly smothering him.

"I sensed a lot of emotion in that one… eh, Joey?" Dolimus joked.

Ignoring him, Yugi spoke, a fake smile on his face, "Actually, I would like to choose Dolimus for my target, too. I have something good planned for you!"

"Is it just me, or have we just become background characters for their little games?" Tristan mumbled to Bakura.

"Don't ask me, this is the first time I've been invited over in three months next Thursday, I believe," he whispered in reply.

"I think I would prefer a dare this time…" Dolimus stated flatly.

"I dare you to go outside and scream out the number of people you've been on dates with!" Yugi dared him. "It is night time now, so you don't have to worry about the _sun._"

"Gee, - Yugi," Joey poorly acted. "That – dare – sucks. Could – you – not – think – of – something – better?"

"Well, - Joey," Yugi said, also acting poorly. "I – thought – it – would – be – funny, - and – I – was – really – just – curious – about – how – many – people – he's – dated."

Dolimus narrowed his eyebrows, and left the room to fulfill his dare.

_He knows something is up now,_ Yami stated. _I can tell. Just play the game like normal, and he should come to you._

_Gotcha,_ Yugi replied.

They heard Dolimus cry out, "I lost count around thirty-five!"

Serenity widened her eyes with utter surprise.

He came back in with a serious look on his face and began to grab his things.

"I'm very sorry guys, but I have to be home early today. I will see you all tomorrow," he said.

As he stepped out of the room, he turned and said, "Actually, I wouldn't mind speaking to Yugi or Joey in private for a moment. Nothing serious, though."

He walked out of the room and Yugi leaned towards Tristan, Bakura, and Serenity.

"Okay guys, you follow close behind and listen to our conversation. I know what it will be about, and you guys will know the truth about Dolimus," he ordered.

Everyone save Joey nodded their head, intently.

"I'm gonna go with Yuge," Joey stated.

The duo followed behind Dolimus while the rest of the gang trailed them. As the two stepped out of the door, they saw Dolimus standing further away in the street, his back to them.

"So I assume you're trying to expose me to the world, starting with the rest of your little circle of friends, I assume?" he asked, completely serious.

Yugi spoke up and said, "We know you're a vampire, Dolimus."

"Yes, I already deducted that with your poor show in your room. Now I want you to tell me how."

"Yami helped me figure it out. He's the spirit of an ancient pharaoh that exists inside my Millennium Puzzle, and the first one to have suspicions about you. Without him, I'd have never known your little secret."

"I see… yes, I would expect a pharaoh to know about my race… Which one is he? I know his name isn't really Yami." Dolimus asked, turning around to face the two.

"This ain't da time fer friendly talk, Dolimus! Ta think I trusted you…"

"What is your problem with that which you do not understand?" Dolimus asked, raising his voice suddenly. "Why is it that when people hear 'vampire, vampire' they automatically think 'Satan, evil'! Listen, sure we suck the blood of humans, but we are simply predators among them! Can you really blame us for just trying to survive?"

Yugi then shifted into Yami.

"Draining the life fluid of another and mutating them into one of your own against their will is wrong, and you will pay for your deeds!" Yami shouted back to Dolimus.

"What am I supposed to do, then? Just curl up and die! If I can't drink blood, what else can I do! Do you really think that I want to live the life of the vampire's curse! Yugi, I was going to tell you all this secret of mine eventually… I never thought you of all people would handle it this way."

Just then, Serenity stepped out from the building. He saw her and gasped.

"Serenity… you would understand… please tell them…" he pleaded.

"No…" she whimpered. "I can't… but… I can't say you're wrong either…" She slowly began to cry softly into her hands.

"Serenity—" Dolimus started, moving towards her.

"_Get away from my sister! I'm not gonna let you do your vampire magic on her!_" shouted Joey, rushing at Dolimus.

Dolimus quickly dodged his swing and flipped him over onto his back. He then reached down and grabbed him by his neck, hoisting him back up. Holding him in the air a slight bit, he thundered two underhanded swings into Joey's gut and threw him back down.

"Joey, Joey… I genuinely regarded you all as friends… it appears that none of you can simply accept me for who I am. Serenity, even you—"

Serenity cut him off, saying, "No, don't talk to me… please just go."

He stopped and stared at her. Joey stubbornly rose and threw another punch at Dolimus. Seeing it coming, Dolimus caught his fist and bent it backwards while holding it as tightly as possible. Joey reared back and grunted in pain. Suddenly, Dolimus's torso was met by Joey's knee, plowing straight into it. The blow stunned Dolimus, and Joey took his free hand and threw a punch at his face.

"You guys, please stop it!" shrieked Serenity.

Dolimus lowered his head to absorb the impact and met Joey's hand with a crack. Joey clenched his hand and cried out from the pain he had received in both of them.

Dolimus then raised his free hand up to throw a hard punch at Joey's face when a blast of dark energy slammed Dolimus away. He flew about ten feet and rolled across the asphalt.

"I come back to visit for but a few moments and already I must save you all?" a familiar voice said from the shadows.

Dolimus looked up to see a man step out from the darkness and into the street light, revealing himself. He was a tad slim. He appeared tall, while sporting an orange T-shirt with a blue stripe circling his torso that hung over his pants. He wore bright white shoes, obviously new, and had a large slate colored winter coat attached around his neck, like a cape. Perhaps his oddest feature was a strange mask he wore that covered his entire face. It was a lustrous purple mask, shaped like a shield. It had intricate red lines that formed a gigantic eye in the center of the mask.

Gasping, Yami cried aloud, "Baron Von Stupor!"


	17. Chapter 9

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 9

"I came to visit and here I find your bodies being ransacked so heartlessly by a stranger, I presume?" Von Stupor observed.

"Close, he was a friend, but is actually a vampire. He was targeting Joey's sister until we caught him in the middle of his plan. I only hope there is a way to defeat him and release the curse laid upon all he had struck," Yami replied.

"I see. Well, I shall protect you, fear not! The odds have now evened with the introduction of my mask into the fray!"

Dolimus noticed the unfavorable odds, considering Von Stupor's ability.

"I hope you all know I do not intend to fight any of you. You are making me do this!" he yelled, and shot toward Von Stupor with lightning speed.

Von Stupor quickly extended his hand and blasted Dolimus backward, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Quickly recovering, he ran toward Von Stupor once more.

Von Stupor fired another blast, but Dolimus gracefully sidestepped it and punched Von Stupor dead in his mask. The sheer force reciprocated Von Stupor, causing his mask to fall off. He landed on his neck and rolled backward into a face-down position, his cope draped over his head.

Dolimus reached down to grab Baron Von Stupor's neck when suddenly he heard someone shout out, "_Mercury Bubbles Blast!_"

He looked to his side to see a mass of bubbles fly in his direction.

The bubbles blinded his sight as he swatted wildly at the projectiles. Von Stupor felt his mask nearby underneath his cope and put it back on.

Standing up, he saw Dolimus through the fading bubbles and planted a heavy blast of energy in his chest.

The vampire flew in the air and backward, slamming into a nearby lone tree hard. He dropped to the ground and laid there for a moment.

"Sailor Mercury!" cried Yami with surprise.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, but it appears I arrived in the nick of time!" she apologized, running to Von Stupor's side in sailor scout attire.

"We thought you weren't going to make it, Amy!" Tristan mentioned.

"The event got cancelled due to inclement weather forecasts, so I came back, but we can talk about that later!"

Dolimus wobbled to his feet and leapt up into the tree. Everybody watched it cautiously.

"Von, I hate ta admit it, but ya really saved my butt back there… He was handin my ass ta me…" Joey panted.

"'Tis understandable, Joey. He has an advantage," replied the baron.

"I have an idea," mentioned Amy, watching the tree. "Here we go! _Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!_"

She shot a burst stream of bubbles at the tree, freezing it. Shortly before they collided, Dolimus leapt from inside and landed in front of them. He immediately gave a hard right to Sailor Mercury's stomach, crippling her.

Von Stupor attempted a chop to his right but his arm was caught by Dolimus and he was promptly swung over the creature's head and slammed onto the ground. He landed with a thud and laid there, groaning.

During the attack, Joey spun and landed a hard left hook to Dolimus's face, followed by a right to his ribcage, below his arm. Dolimus stumbled backward and gave Joey a piercing glare.

"I'll neva stay down. Not fer you," he said, raising his guard.

"Joey," he responded. "I admire and respect your loyalty and courage. However, I am growing tired of this!"

Sailor Mercury was back on her feet by then and unleashed another flurry of bubbles in Dolimus's direction.

Dolimus, leaping into the air, came down on her with a hard chop to her neck, knocking her out instantly.

Joey tried to come in from behind, but the ever-ready Dolimus turned around and grabbed him. He lifted the battered friend over his head and slammed him to the ground as hard as he could. Joey cried out and clutched his back.

Dolimus turned and looked to the others, panting very hard.

"I will do this to any other one of you who is foolish enough to try and take me on. You are all my friends, but I am not afraid!" he threatened.

Von Stupor still laid on the ground, clutching his shoulder while Joey fought to stand back up. Sailor Mercury was unconscious. Yami looked at the field in horror while Serenity was completely frozen with battling emotions.

Just then, two police cars showed up. Two officers got out while the remaining two stayed in the second car. Dolimus approached them in that they wouldn't see the aftermath of the battle.

The two officers approached Dolimus.

"Is your name Dolimus Serban?" one of them asked.

"It is, sir."

"Alright, sir, well we have a search warrant for your arrest," said the cop, the other one pulling out handcuffs.

"I don't understand!"

"Sir, you're under arrest for the theft of thirty-two pints of blood from the local hospital."

Dolimus solemnly looked downward and did not resist being cuffed.

"Wait!" Serenity cried out, running to him. "You stole the blood from the hospital?"

"I have not drained one person since our date. It wouldn't feel right if I did…" he replied.

"You… you stopped attacking people for me?" she asked, tears beginning to stream down her face once more. "You're not evil at all… I thought you just wanted to bite me, but… you really do care about me?"

"Of course I do… Serenity, I've been in love with you since our first date, and because of such I would never bite you… I've never felt about anyone like I do about you, Serenity, and I only hoped I could live in peace with you and your friends as mine… but I see that being a vampire is causing my exile once more. I was a fool to think our relationships with humans would ever change."

"Dolimus… I love you…"

"…What?"

"I understand now… what your kind goes through… and I understand how you found another way to live… without committing any evil on other humans…"

"Serenity, thank you—"

"But… you still committed evil acts… I'm sorry, Dolimus."

Dolimus stared, unsure of what to say.

Serenity approached him and stared into his glistening eyes.

"I was sure that you were genuine, I could tell from your eyes, and I apologize so much… for losing faith in you due to your secret," she said to him, and moved herself upward, kissing him lightly. "If you hadn't attacked anyone at all, I could have understood, but now… I can't be with someone who I know has preyed upon others… I want to, so I could be with you, but I just… can't…"

"Does that mean…" he started.

"Yes," she said. "I'm sorry Dolimus, but… it's over…"

He stared forward in disbelief, observing his surroundings. Yami stood, arms crossed, watching him. Von Stupor watched him with intent. Joey stared at the scene, a sorrowful look on his face.

"Are you done now?" asked one of the cops hesitantly.

Dolimus looked away from Serenity, a look of despair on his face. It then twisted as his heart broke and he proceeded to spread his arms apart forcefully, breaking the handcuffs with ease. He then jumped away, into the shadows, tears leaving a faint trail of sparkles behind him.

The cops began shouting into their CB radios and leapt into their cars, promptly driving away.

"Great, what now?" asked Joey.

"Unfortunately, we'll have to track Dolimus down and complete the job," replied Yami, indifferent.

"What? I don't think I'm following ya, Yuge."

"I wouldn't expect you to. You see, when a vampire is killed, every vampire created as a result of it has their curse lifted. However, if a vampire dies of natural causes, the curse will remain intact forever. This is their primary form of reproduction."

"So in other words, if we wanna save Téa's humanity, we have ta kill Dolimus?"

"I'm afraid it's the only way. Von Stupor, you will be a valuable ally for this, with the power of your mask."

Serenity ran to them, panic in her eyes.

"No!" she cried. "Don't kill him!"

"Serenity, we have no other choice. If we don't, Téa along with his other victims will most likely remain a vampire for the rest of their days. We have to break the curse," Yami replied sullenly.

"There has to be another way, there has to be!"

"I know vampires better than anyone else now… I've experienced them during my time in the past. Killing the cause of the curse is the only way to break it."

Serenity looked into his eyes, tears welling up in hers again. She promptly turned and ran into Yugi's house, crying.

"Joey, you should go try and help Serenity," Yami instructed him. "You can't take on a vampire; you're in no condition and have no defense for yourself. Have Tristan aid Amy, Baron Von Stupor and I will go take down Dolimus."

"Yuge, I'll let you go without me, but only cause I think you're right. Von, you betta not let me down, you take care of Yugi."

"I'd rather stick my face in cake than let you down, Joey, and sticking my face in cake? Phew, do you know how hard that is to get the frosting out of my mask? 'Tis very difficult, which means that I really would rather not let you down, lest I wish to stick my face in a cake."

"Yes, well, come on. I know exactly how to find out where Dolimus lives," Yami mentioned after an awkward pause.


	18. Chapter 10

**Okay guys, celebration is over and it's time to get back to the story! We've missed out on quite a bit and I'm sure I've bored away plenty of potentially faithful readers. I apologize to those and all currently faithful readers for this unfortunate mishap, but I can bid with confidence that this will never happen again. I now have copies of my documents on CD, computer, and jump drive, which when it is not being used for file transfer, it is safely stored away in my desk drawer, part of the computer desk. My fiction is here to stay! Nothing will be discontinued, all will be finished, WOO-HOO! Alright then, first I'd also like to give a couple shout-outs to those who have helped me along the way.**

**First off, I'd like to thank Packrat, Von Stupor, and Dolimus for all their support. ;)**

**Then there's Funkygal-Yami/Tea Fan, who posted some chapters while the site refused to cooperate with my pokey 33k dial-up internet connection, lol. She posted four chapters for me.**

**I would also like to thank Sean (AKA Randical R) for recovering my laptop data. BIG thanks to him, I'd have kissed him if he couldn't beat me up. Well, not really, but the thought was there. Well...moving on. ahem**

**I would also like to mention keeper-of-the-triforce again, since she seemed so flabbergasted when I had mentioned her name twice in my fanfictions.**

**With that out of the way and with no more delay, I present chapter nine of 'Darkness Absolute'!**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 10

"How are we to track this man?" Von Stupor asked, a bit confused.

"Grandpa has an old scanner that can intercept fire departments and police departments using the radio and play it on the machine," Yami informed him.

"I see… I know of those!"

"We will simply listen for details on Dolimus's whereabouts as he is chased by the police and look for a final location."

After a few minutes, lo and behold, the scanner began picking up a signal describing Dolimus's physical traits. It then mentioned that he appears to be headed toward his residence, and gave his address.

"Let's go!" ordered Yami, running for the door.

Von Stupor followed close behind.

"Suppose the police try to prevent us from getting there?" he asked.

"We'll just have to beat them there. I know a shortcut!"

Cutting through yards and hopping over fences brought them to Dolimus's described residence in no time.

"This is it. Come on!" ordered Yami, and ran toward the door.

"So pushy since I left… 'tis the mark of a leader, it is! I am proud. …And also Von Stupor!" observed Von Stupor.

"Von Stupor, hurry, we haven't much time!" Yami reprimanded him, beating the door with his shoulder.

"Ah, yes. Here, Yami, stand back! Let a real crazy try."

Yami stepped aside and Von Stupor blasted the door apart using his mask's power. Yami gave him a flustered look and continued inside. Von Stupor came in hot pursuit.

"Dolimus!" Yami shouted through the darkness of the house.

Neither had not taken much time to properly examine the house from outside, but it was certainly a mansion.

"Mr. Dolly-man's abode is quite the, uh… mansion," Von Stupor noticed, looking around the large mezzanine before him. "His pappy is a rich man, one can infer."

"Yes, and Dolimus could be hiding anywhere. We must stay on our toes," replied Yami.

"I'm sorry," boomed a voice through the corridor. "Dolimus is not in right now."

Just then, a large man dropped from nowhere behind them, blocking the door.

Von Stupor and Yami wheeled around to see a slightly aged man, blocking the entryway to the house. He was as pale as a ghost, and his hair was straight and long, a bright white color. He had a bushy mustache, and scruffy beard that was not shaved very short. He wore very prestigious attire, and save his undead appearance and age, was rather striking in looks.

"Who are you?" Yami demanded.

"My name is Serban," answered the man. "I own this lovely piece of property."

"Serban? That is Dolimus's last name. In accordance with Romanian culture… you are Dolimus's father!"

"Yes, I am… I also see my son could not keep his secret for very long. That is not good, as we will have to move again. You see, we move a lot because of my son… he is quite young still, and does not know how to properly maintain his secret life from everyone."

"You are correct. He has also afflicted one of my friends with the vampire's curse."

"I see. I feel happy for your friend. She is now one of us…"

"_No!_ I am here to stop Dolimus! It ends here!"

Serban laughed heartily, and began to step forward.

"I see that you obviously have no intention of leaving. That is most unfortunate for you, as you have more than guaranteed your death," he briefed them. "…For as you can see, I am not going to just let you kill my son."

"Father, no!" cried Dolimus, running into the house behind his father. "Don't kill them! They are friends!"

"What? But they are here to kill you. Only one of our two species may live, and I certainly do not wish for either of us to die."

"I was afraid of that…"

"Dolimus, we don't want to kill you…" Yami said, sullenly. "However, you have afflicted our friend."

"Can't you just let her live her new life? We can both be alive, and enjoy many days to come!"

"Dolimus, you unjustly infected her with the curse of the vampire! I must protect my friends from anything and everything… even if that means protecting them from other friends."

"Yugi, I don't want to fight you. You're a very pleasant kid to be around, and I really enjoyed your company. However, I will not hesitate to defend myself if I have to! You will not be the first human I've killed in defending my well-being, I must warn you. I won't try to convince you anymore, because I know you've already made up your mind. I just want you to think long and hard about what you're going to do, because once we start, I'm not going to hold back."

Yami stood there in silence, and stared at Dolimus, his eyes a bit damp. Baron Von Stupor and Serban stood to the side and observed the dead room.

_His actions were performed as a means of survival… Is it truly an evil act for him to live? His intentions were only survival…_ Yami debated in his head. _I don't know what to do…_

After a moment, he looked upward at Dolimus, determination in his eyes.

"Dolimus, you could have easily stolen readily donated blood from the hospital rather than preying on women," he spoke. "Because you had done said action out of love for Serenity, you can no longer justify what you have done to all of your victims! I am sorry Dolimus, but I must end this!"

"I… you're right. I respect your decision, Yugi. Fine then, let's finish things."

"Dolimus, you have trespassed in the souls of both Téa and myself, and for that, you must now play a game… a Shadow Game, with me as your opponent!"

"What do you mean?"

"Dolimus, you're obviously not a coward, and I know you fight with honor. Why not face me at the top of my game?"

Dolimus raised an eyebrow, stating, "You're obviously referencing mine and my father's physical advantage over you both. Keep going."

"We're both intelligent, we're both cunning. Let's settle this through a Shadow Game, and the name is Duel Monsters!"

"Tell me though, in a situation as dire as this, why are you asking me to play a game?"

"Because this is a Shadow Game, and the loser of this game… will die."

"Wait a moment!" Serban interjected. "How do we know we can trust your friend not to interfere with this Shadow Game, and what makes you think that I will simply sit idly while my son risks his life in a game of ancient power?"

"You will know because you and I shall play a game as well, Serban! We shall be playing tag team alongside Yugi and Dolimus!" announced Von Stupor pulling his dueling deck from his cope.

"Very well, then. I was about to address my acute distaste in watching my son risk his life to defend himself in a foolish show of honor."

"Father, I don't want to kill Yugi in this battle… So I want him to have a fighting chance as well," Dolimus spoke in response, extracting a duel monsters deck from a deck pouch on his belt.

"I shall respect your friendship to these people, and that is why I don't speak against your decision, my son. However, I know something about you, Yugi, that does not make this game entirely fair. You are the King of Games, no? You are the greatest Duel Monsters player in the world, and have proven it twice over."

"That is true, I see you have done your research," Yami complemented him.

"Yes, that is why I propose that while we play your game, we shall play by our rules."

"This game shall become quite interesting…" Von Stupor chuckled to himself.

"You see, I am a skilled card player myself," boasted Serban, extracting an odd deck from his pocket. "I specialize in the art of Kaijudo."

"What! The art of fighting with giant monsters?" Yami spurted in shock.

"You shall splurge Duel Monsters with Duel Masters?" Von Stupor cried in disbelief.

"It has always been said to stick with what you're good at, yes?"

"Very well, then. This will be a tag team Duel Monsters match playing by Kaijudo rule." Yami added.

"Agreed!" said Dolimus and Serban.

"Agreed!" said Yami and Von Stupor.

"Potatoes!" said Von Stupor.

And hence, the Shadow Game began.

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**It's coming down to it! The final stunning conclusion! What will happen? Only I know, and I'm not telling you! However, if you do wish to enhance your experience reading the next chapter, send me an email at with the subject "Duel Theme" and ask for a lovely little MIDI I have here that will really set the mood whilst everyone is battling it out. This MIDI you can start playing as soon as you begin reading the chapter. **


	19. Chapter 11

**Well, uh... I guess no one wanted the MIDI, lol. Ah, well, then! Here's the next chapter!**

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"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 11

The four duelists all backed away from each other, giving ample room to summon their monsters. Yugi and Von Stupor stayed toward the rear of the room while Dolimus accompanied his father closer to the main entrance. A dark fog emitted from Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and engulfed the room as they all became frozen in time. An aqua-colored glowing platform appeared in front of each duelist so as to act as a table for which they would place their cards.

Five cards were whisked from each player's deck and placed in front of them as shields. The goal for winning this game would be to attack the opponent directly after eliminating their five shields, also via direct attack.

"Since I am the one being challenged, I get to go first," Dolimus announced. "…And because we are playing by rule of Kaijudo, I, being the first to move, may not draw a card." After carefully reviewing his hand, he set one monster and two M/T cards, ending his turn.

"I draw," announced Serban. "I shall set Snake Attack as mana and end my turn."

"I draw, and set three M/T cards," said Yami. "Your turn, Von Stupor!"

"Serve me well, my deck!" he commanded, drawing his card. "I'll set one M/T card and summon 'La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp'!"

La Jinn materialized in front of Von Stupor, a smirk on the entity's face.

"Now La Jinn! Attack Dolimus's face-down monster!" Von Stupor ordered the djinn.

The genie sailed across to Dolimus and slapped his face down card. A thief appeared from within and stuck a dagger in La Jinn's throat. La Jinn countered by clutching the man and squeezing him, thusly breaking his spine and felling both monsters.

"You've attacked my Night Assailant," commented Dolimus. "Like Man-Eater Bug, its flip effect allows me to destroy one monster on the field. Looks like I'll have the tactical advantage next round."

Von Stupor looked at Yami apologetically.

"Don't worry, Von Stupor," he encouraged his partner. "The duel is not over yet."

"I draw, and I set one M/T card," Dolimus continued. "Next, I'll summon Archfiend Soldier to the field and play 'Reload'. This card allows me to shuffle my hand into my deck and draw the same number of cards back out. Next, I'll use my Archfiend Soldier to attack Yami's shield!"

The evil mercenary dashed to Yami upon materializing and impaled one of his shields with his large sword, sending it in a beam of light back to the pharaoh's hand.

"My shield…" Yami mumbled.

"Yugi… or Yami, for that matter. You're making me do this, you're making me fight, don't you understand?" asked the vampire to Yami.

Sighing, he answered, "Dolimus, this is how it must be… I must save my friend!"

"_I am your friend! You don't care about me?_"

"Dolimus, I'm sorry… this is the hardest thing I or Yugi have ever had to do. However, you were in the wrong! I cannot let this go! …And sadly, this is the only way…"

"Enough! I can't change your mind, obviously. I guess I'll have to finish this. Then I'll have to migrate to another place, and begin this all over again…"

"This has happened before?"

"Yes, everywhere I go, I have to make friends, and then my friendships are dashed to bits when either they or someone else discovers my secret! I am forced to protect it from them… and then move on, before I am caught…"

"Dolimus, you have killed innocent victims?"

"No! I have a heart, you know. I only killed those who had the nerve to try and do something about it, like you are! Everyone else cared, and understood… they agreed to keep it secret for me. They actually understood!"

"Dolimus… this is a tragic confrontation, I understand… but I can't let you keep going on like this! You're changing the lives of innocent youths against their will and killing off other people for trying to defend them!"

"_What else am I supposed to do! I need blood to live, Yami!_"

"You were living off of the hospital blood banks for a short while."

Dolimus was silent, staring. A tear began to well in his eye.

"Enough banter!" shouted Serban. "Let us allow our cards to determine who is truly in the right and who deserves the punishment. I draw! Next I shall set my Snake Attack spell card as mana and then tap them both to summon my Writhing Bone Ghoul! With a power level of 2000, it can easily contend with your weaker Duel Monsters. However, due to summoning sickness, it cannot attack this turn."

A disgusting fiend of black crept up from the floor. Darkness oozed off of it like a liquid and seeped into the floor.

Yami drew and activated 'Pot of Greed', drawing two cards in the process.

"Next," he continued. "I'll play 'Cost Down', which lowers the star levels of all monsters in my hand by two! Then, I'll follow with summoning 'Dark Magician Girl'!"

Serban perked an eyebrow at this.

"Go, Dark Magician Girl!" ordered its master. "Attack the Writhing Bone Ghoul with Dark Magic Attack!"

The spell caster pointed its wand at the ghoul and fired a mighty blast, incinerating the creature instantly.

"My turn," said Von Stupor. "I'll summon the Sonic Bird! This monster has an effect where when normal summoned, allows me to place a ritual magic card from my deck and place it into my hand!"

Von Stupor extracted the card from his deck prior to ending his turn.

"I'm next," said Dolimus, drawing a card. "I'll first play Snatch Steal on your Dark Magician Girl, Yami!"

A man dashed over to the female and snatched her up, scampering back to Dolimus's side of the field and putting a handgun to her head.

"Now I'll sacrifice both Archfiend Soldier and Dark Magician Girl to tribute summon the powerful Zoa!"

A devilish creature then materialized onto the field in place of the two tributes and loosed a mighty roar. It glared at the opposing duo.

"Go, my creature! Attack the baron's Sonic Bird!"

The creature leapt clear across the field and came down with a crash on top of the bird. It smashed it into the ground with its mighty hand and scooped it into its mouth. Crunching furiously, it swallowed the fowl whole, jetpack and all, and tromped back to its side of the field.

"Now I'll activate 'Dust Tornado' on your face-down M/T card. This trap card allows me to destroy one of your Magic or Trap cards and set one of my own."

"So goes my 'Negate Attack'…" mumbled Von Stupor in reply and his protective trap was ripped apart by the tornado emanating from Dolimus's field.

"I am next!" announced Serban. "I shall set my 'Dark Reversal' spell card as mana and then tap all three to summon 'Gray Balloon, Shadow of Greed'!"

An eerie fog with a face formulated in front of him and grimaced.

"This monster's attack power is 3000, which is more than enough to exterminate most of your puny Duel Monsters. Once it recovers from its summoning sickness, nothing will halt its rampage against your shields!"

"Not if I stop it first!" cried Yami, drawing. "I'll play the magic card 'Raigeki', which destroys all of my opponents' monsters!"

Magnificent lightning bolts rained down on top of the Zoa and Gray Balloon, striking them both down and clearing the opposition's field entirely.

"Now I'll summon the Gemini Elf, and follow up with 'Monster Reborn', to bring back my Dark Magician Girl!"

The sacred ankh appeared above Yami's head as the Dark Magician Girl fazed into existence. It floated down and joined its newly materialized partners, the twin elves.

"Now, my Gemini Elf! Attack Serban's shield directly!"

The two began a dash toward Serban.

"Not so fast," cried Dolimus from afar. "I'll defend him with 'Waboku', which reduces all battle damage from an opponent's monster to zero for this turn!"

"Not if I counter with 'Seven Tools of the Bandit'!" retorted Yami. "I will sacrifice one of my shields to halt the effects of your trap and destroy it!"

"No! Father!"

One of Yami's shields shot into his hand and Yami's monster did a team kick at Serban's, returning it to his hand.

"Now, my Dark Magician Girl, attack Serban's shields again!"

The young magician obeyed and launched a Dark Magic Attack at yet another of Serban's shields, reducing his total to three.

"Hahaha… go ahead, Mr. King of Games… You're only giving me more potential mana," the old man taunted.

"Careful, Yami…" Baron Von Stupor told his friend while drawing. "Your shield count is down to three remaining as well…"

Yami nodded in acknowledgement.

"I shall set one M/T and one monster, thus ending my turn!"

"I'm next," said Dolimus, a serious look in his eyes. He was visibly upset, for obvious reason.

"I will play 'Nobleman of Crossout' on Von Stupor's face-down monster! This magic card will destroy one face-down monster and remove it from play!"

"Not quite," Von Stupor retaliated. "I'll activate 'Magic Jammer', which allows me to discard a card from my hand— namely my 'Neko Mane King'— to negate the activation of and destroy one of your magic cards!"

A knight appeared to destroy Von Stupor's card, but was too weak and pitiful to lift his sword properly. It fell out of his hand and pierced his armor, near his collar bone and felled himself instantly.

Growling, Dolimus set one monster and ended his turn.

"Next," Serban said after drawing, "I shall tap three mana once more to summon another Gray Balloon!"

"Oh, no!" cried Yami to himself. "If this keeps up, his overpowered Duel Masters monsters will overcome us both!"

He then drew a card.

"Perfect!" he crowed. "Serban, I will halt your parade of overpowered monsters with this! 'Harpie's Feather Duster'!"

Serban's jaw dropped.

"This destroys all set magic or trap cards on the field, and since all of your mana are spell cards, then that destroys all three, leaving you with nothing to summon your monsters with!"

"_No!_" he cried. "I need that mana!"

A large feather appeared and blew a stream of violet dust at him, dissolving all of his mana in an instant.

Yami then set a monster and ended his turn.

"Well, that is perfectly fine. I still have my Gray Balloon, and I hardly doubt you have the necessary force to stop it," gloated Serban with confidence.

"Don't be so sure," crooned Von Stupor, wagging his finger. "I have a surprise for you! For you see, I shall now play 'Black Illusion Ritual'!"

Serban looked to Dolimus in confusion, who in turn coughed in surprise.

"How could you have Relinquished? Only Maximillion Pegasus owned that card!" he sputtered in disbelief.

"Let us just say I have some connections… Either way, I shall tribute 'A Man with Wdjat' from my hand to ritual summon Relinquished!"

Relinquished emerged from its sacred pot and looked straight at the Gray Balloon.

"Indeed, my Relinquished! Absorb his Gray Balloon, Shadow of Greed and add his power to your own!"

The creature began a deep suction emanating from its torso, and the Gray Balloon wisped into it without a moment's hesitation. Serban appeared panicked.

"Who has gained a lead now, O nocturnal predator?" asked an arrogant Von Stupor.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, befuddled.

"Father, Relinquished is a fearsome monster that can absorb monsters and use them as a shield against attack. On top of that, it assumes the monster's attack in defense."

"Or in the case of my Gray Balloon, its power level…"

"Now, attack Dolimus's set monster!" commanded Von Stupor. "We shall leave them both without way for defense! Absorption Blast Attack!"

Relinquished blew away Dolimus's set monster, revealing a Cyber Jar.

"You've flipped my Cyber Jar! Now all monsters on the field are destroyed, and we draw five cards from our decks!" Dolimus informed the others. "Any monsters level four or under are immediately summoned in either face-up attack or defense positions!"

The Cyber Jar sprang from the card and absorbed Relinquished's attack into it, along with Relinquished, and Yami's Gemini Elf, Dark Magician Girl, and set monster.

Drawing five cards, Von Stupor brought forth a Dark Blade, Dolimus brought forth a Berserk Gorilla and Double Coston, Yami brought a Mystical Elf in defense mode, a Witch of the Black Forest and another Gemini Elf, and Serban brought forth two Writhing Bone Ghouls and three Wandering Braineaters.

"_What!_" cried Yami aloud. "This can't be! Serban's side of the field is entirely full!"

"Indeed it is!" he replied with hearty laughter. "Every single one of my monsters has a power level of 2000, and while my three Wandering Braineaters cannot attack, they have the special 'Blocker' ability, which allows me to use them in the place of any other of my or my son's monsters during an attack! Even if you best his 2000 attack monster, I can easily block it with one of mine, and I hardly think that you can begin to match the power of my bone ghouls by next turn!"

_Oh, no!_ Yami thought, panic-stricken. _They have gained a serious power advantage as a team, and if I don't act fast, this game may cause either I or Von Stupor our lives!_

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**When Yami busts out THAT classic line, you know something's not good! Hey, guess what? There's another MIDI waiting for you all, to enrich your reading experience. Simply email me at with the subject "fresh piney scent" and I'll send it to you! Simply play it once you read the words, "This duel is about to end very soon," and let it repeat from there!**


	20. Chapter 12

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 12

"Great sparkling cheese monkeys!" Von Stupor shrieked aloud in pure shock. "Did I screw us over _that_ much!"

"Baron Von Stupor, you did not know!" Yami scolded him. "None of this is your fault."

Von Stupor twiddled his thumb as Dolimus drew his next card.

As the field stood, Baron Von Stupor had a Dark Blade with him, and Yami had Gemini Elf, Witch of the Black Forest, and a defense position Mystical Elf. Serban had two Writhing Bone Ghouls and three Wandering Braineaters while Dolimus had a Berserk Gorilla and Double Coston.

"Next, I'll summon a second Berserk Gorilla to the field! As per his effect, any Berserk Gorillas must attack any time possible, therefore, I'll first use it to attack your Dark Blade!"

Von Stupor's black knight took a full swing at the gorilla and was squashed like a tin can under the ape's mighty forearm.

"Next, I'll use my second Berserk Gorilla and Double Coston to attack your shields directly!"

The two wisps that were the Double Coston sent a beam of energy at one of Von Stupor's shields while the giant monkey slapped away a second.

Dolimus ending his turn, Serban drew a card.

"I will set a Writhing Bone Ghoul as mana and use my two on the field to attack your shields, Baron Von Stupor," announced Serban.

The two hellions loosed their demonic auras at Von Stupor's shields, sending them back to his hand and leaving one remaining.

_Von Stupor has taken some mighty blows in one turn,_ Yami thought to himself, drawing his next card. _I must find a way to protect him somehow!_ "Now I shall play 'Snatch Steal' on Dolimus's Berserk Gorilla, and sacrifice it, along with my Witch of the Black Forest to tribute summon the Dark Magician!"

Upon the two monsters vanishing came the mighty sorcerer of darkness.

"Now, I'll bring a monster with a defense of 1200 or less to my hand from my deck as per my witch's effect, then play 'Graceful Charity'. I may now draw three cards and discard two from my hand. I'll set one M/T and use my Dark Magician to attack Serban's Wandering Braineater!"

The Dark Magician charged up a mighty blast and smote the disgusting creature on Serban's side of the field.

Dolimus narrowed his eyebrows.

"'Tis my turn!" announced Von Stupor, drawing a card. "…And now, 'tis time for me to redeem myself! I shall summon Senju of the Thousand Hands— WHOOP! He's got an effect! He allows me to bring a ritual monster card from my deck to my hand and because of this…"

Von Stupor nervously dropped his card and juggled it in midair, catching it in a swift clap.

"Eh… because of this, I play a second 'Black Illusion Ritual'!"

"Two of those cretins!" cried Serban in frustration.

"Wa ha! I shall discard Zombyra the Dark from my hand to special summon Relinquished! Next, I shall absorb Dolimus's Berserk Gorilla, and use my newly acquired fuel to attack his Double Coston, smiting two monsters with one ritual!"

Relinquished inhaled the gorilla, who managed to smack its eyeball on the way into its torso. It vented its anger out on the Double Coston, shooting a more powerful blast than usual, and exploding the twin flames to bits.

With a slight frown on his face, Dolimus's eyes brightened with his next card.

"I'll summon the Tribe-Infecting Virus!" he announced. "This monster's special ability allows me to discard one card from my hand to declare one monster type, and all monsters of my declared type are destroyed on both sides of the field!"

In front of him, a swirling spiral of blue disease appeared and hovered.

"Discarding Jinzo from my hand, I'll choose to destroy all Spellcaster-type monsters!"

The virus launched a blue powder into the air, and as it sprinkled down, all Spellcaster-type monsters crumpled over instantly and died.

"Oh, no!" cried Yami as not only did Von Stupor's Relinquished die, so did his Gemini Elf, Dark Magician, and Mystical Elf, leaving either partner completely and utterly defenseless, save Von Stupor's Senju of the Thousand Hands.

"Next," continued the young vampire. "I will use my Tribe-Infecting Virus to attack Senju!"

"Not quite!" countered Von Stupor, having a trick up his sleeve. "I'll activate my trap, 'Skull Lair'! By removing a number of cards in my graveyard equal to the level on a monster, I can destroy the respective monster! Therefore, I shall destroy every monster on yours and Serban's sides of the field! After all, I believe I've conducted quite the library."

The Skull Lair's gates rose between the opposing teams and one by one, zapped every monster on Dolimus and Serban's sides of the field, felling them all.

"I'll show you!" promised Serban. "I'll set a 'Dark Reversal' as mana and tap both to play my spell card, 'Dark Reversal'! This allows me to take one monster card from my graveyard and place it into my hand. That ends my turn."

"I draw," said Yami. "I'll play 'Graceful Charity', which allows me to draw three cards and discard two… and then I shall summon once more, the Gemini Elf! I shall use her to attack Dolimus's shields directly!"

They launched a dual attack, hitting the shield in unison, sending it flying back to Dolimus's hand.

"Finally, a first hit was struck on me," he mocked.

"'Tis not all, Dolimus!" commented Von Stupor. "I shall summon another La Jinn, and use him to attack your shields directly!"

The genie said a slight incantation and sent a magical bolt flying through Dolimus's shield, sending it to his hand.

"And now, my Senju, attack Serban's open shield as well!"

Senju, with its mighty thousand hands, swatted Serban's third shield, shattering it and returning it to his hand.

"I draw," said Dolimus, ignoring the second strike against his shields. "I'll first play 'Hammer Shot', which destroys an opponent's monster with the highest attack, which would be Yami's Gemini Elf!"

A huge fireball came down on top of the pair's heads, leaving charred remains.

"Next, I'll summon another Berserk Gorilla, and use it to attack Yami's shields directly!"

The ape, after tripping and stumbling, ran over to Yami's shields and shattered one of them with a giant punch. It straightened its bright red necktie and returned to its place in front of Dolimus's shields.

"Familiar…" murmured Von Stupor to himself. "…Meh."

"I'll draw, and set one 'Lost Soul' spell card as mana," Serban continued. "and I'll tap three to summon my Gray Balloon, Shadow of Greed once more. That shall end my turn."

Yami simply set one monster and ended his turn.

Von Stupor set one M/T, a monster, and passed his turn as well.

"I draw and use the Berserk Gorilla to attack Yami's set monster!" commanded Dolimus.

The gorilla thundered over to the card and was warped into another Cyber Jar.

"Surprise!" spouted Yami. "Now we can all have another fresh start, hopefully not one as disadvantageous as last time."

Dolimus managed to special summon Breaker the Magical Warrior, Yami brought forward Alpha, Beta, and Gamma the Magnet Warriors, and Serban pulled out Marrow Ooze, the Twister and a second and third Gray Balloon, Shadow of Greed. Von Stupor regrettably didn't receive a single monster.

"Since this is still my battle phase, I'll use Breaker to attack Von Stupor's final shield!" Dolimus declared.

Breaker charged up his staff and threw a ball of energy at Von Stupor's remaining shield, destroying it and sending it back to his hand.

"I would suggest you be careful, Von Stupor," Dolimus commented. "One more direct attack and you'll lose the game."

"He is unfortunate, as I am about to do that right now," said Serban. "First, I'll set Snake Attack as mana and tap two of them to summon the Bone Piercer, with a power level of 1000. Now, I shall use my Gray Balloon, Shadow of Greed to finish you off, Good Sir Baron!"

"I respect your respect," commented Von Stupor. "but not your dignity, for you have forgotten my Skull Lair trap card! I shall remove enough cards from my graveyard to destroy both your gray balloon and bone piercer!"

"I know of your trap card, young pup. I just wonder how many cards you have left in your graveyard? I cannot imagine that you would have many left by now, and with my reusable mana, you simply cannot hold me off forever.

"I draw!" Yami cut in. "I'll use Alpha the Magnet Warrior to attack Bone Piercer, Beta the Magnet Warrior to attack Marrow Ooze, the Twister, and Gamma the Magnet Warrior to attack your shields directly!"

Alpha sliced his creature's head off while Beta sent a lethal electric pulse through the Marrow Ooze. Gamma finished off by cutting its sword clean through Serban's shield leaving him with one left.

Von Stupor nervously set one monster and ended his turn.

"I draw," said Dolimus. "First, I'll play 'Nobleman of Crossout' on your face down card, Von Stupor."

The knight appeared once more, but this time was able to successfully take his sword and crush the face down card in front of him. He picked the Nimble Momonga's carcass out from inside and carried it away as he fazed out.

"Now I would attack and finish you off, Von Stupor but my faith is better placed in defense. Therefore, I'll sacrifice Breaker to tribute set one monster and end my turn."

Drawing, Serban spoke, "I'll set the Terror Pit spell card as mana and tap two to summon the Bone Piercer. End turn."

Yami's eyes lit up as he spoke out loud.

"This is it!" he cried. "This duel is about to end very soon, for I'll sacrifice my three monsters, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, to summon the mighty _Slifer the Sky Dragon!_"

The three magnet warriors fazed out and the entire top of the mansion ripped off in a mighty gust of wind. Then out of the heavens descended a mighty flying dragon. All around it could feel its awesome aura as the divine beast loosed an earthy growl.

Dolimus fell backward in fear, hardly able to speak.

"You… y… no… this can't be!" he sputtered incomprehensibly, his eyes wide with terror.

Serban stared in excitement at the awesome creature from beyond.

Baron Von Stupor shook his butt at the competition, and poorly recreated the scooby shuffle.

"That's correct," shouted Yami at the opposing team. "My monster is not destroyed by either magic, trap, or monster card effects, and his attack and defense are equal to the number of cards in my hand times 1000! That brings his attack and defense total to a grand 8000! Not to mention his second effect, where any summoned or special summoned creature is dealt 2000 damage by Slifer's second mouth, therefore if it cannot equal or best it, the monster is destroyed! Now, my dragon! Attack Breaker the Magical Warrior!"

The dragon reached its paw down and flicked the whelp away effortlessly.

"I shall set one M/T and discard two cards from my hand, as it has grown too large," mentioned Von Stupor.

Drawing his next card, Dolimus's face went straight.

"Here is a card that can help me," he remarked coolly. "First, I'll play 'Monster Reborn' to revive my fallen Zoa from earlier in the game!"

Dolimus's Zoa leapt from the ankh symbol above his head and landed on the ground with a thud. Slifer's second mouth charged a blast of energy and fired it at the creature, and was easily swatted away.

"Now, I'll activate 'Metalmorph', and equip it to Zoa! This not only increases its attack by 300, but it will also add half of my target's attack points to Zoa's when I… attack…"

"That's right, Dolimus," said Yami with a smirk. "Even 'Metalmorph' can't overcome Slifer's power. You're still short by over 1000 points."

"Fine then," he said with a frown. "Either way, I'll sacrifice my Zoa, equipped with 'Metalmorph', to special summon Metalzoa from my deck!"

Within moments, the new armor on Zoa began to have an effect. It crumpled over, and then shrieked as it evolved into the more mechanical atrocity, Metalzoa.

"Now I'll use my Metalzoa to attack Von Stupor directly to finish him off!"

"Not before I use my 'Waboku' to reduce your damage to zero!" countered the masked duelist.

Metalzoa leapt into the air, but came down on top of the first of three priestesses. It ripped her head off and swatted another across the room with its tail. Popping the head into its mouth and chewing, it chased the third down and impaled her with his fingers through her back. It threw her lifeless corpse across the room and all three vanished.

"The duel is becoming too close… and I believe I shall have the perfect grip on the situation, I just need a little longer…" observed Serban while drawing his card. "I'll set 'Snake Attack' as mana and tap two to summon the Bone Piercer. That will end my turn."

"I draw, and order Slifer to attack Metalzoa!" announced Yami.

Slifer opened its mouth and charged a ball of energy. Metalzoa aggressively leapt up toward Slifer, attempting to strike and Slifer loosed its mighty burst on it. Metalzoa was incinerated in the attack and the force knocked all four duelists backward toward the wall.

"I'll set two M/T cards and end my turn," groaned Yami after recovering.

"I draw, and activate 'Call of the Haunted' to summon Sangan!" said Von Stupor.

A grave rose out from the floor and in front of it crawled Sangan from underneath the wood.

"Now I shall play 'Black Illusion Ritual' and sacrifice my Sangan to ritual summon my third Relinquished!"

As Relinquished again came to the field, Serban became irked.

"I grow weary of seeing that accursed monster!" he complained.

"Ha ha ha ha… I get that a lot, you know?" giggled Von Stupor in reply. "Now, since ritual summons are special summons, I shall now also summon 'The Dark- Hex-Sealed Fusion!'"

A putrid ball of pulsating membrane entered the field. It had either worms or tendrils sticking out of it in all directions.

"Now, I absorb one of your Bone Piercers and attack your second with the Hex-Sealed Fusion!"

Relinquished inhaled the creature with no effort as the ball of membrane shot a glob of acidic ooze at its doppelganger.

"Now, my Relinquished, attack Serban's final shield!"

Relinquished shot an Absorption blast attack straight at Serban's final shield, torching it right back to his hand. He merely chuckled.

"And now, my next turn begins! I'll start by playing 'Change of Heart' on your Relinquished, Von Stupor!" said Dolimus.

"What? You…" muttered Von Stupor, shaking his fist at Dolimus.

"Now I'll use it with my set monster to tribute summon another Zoa, and with it I'll attack your Dark Hex-Sealed Fusion!"

The beast, upon materialization, scrambled over to the ball of mush and shoved it into his mouth, biting down. After a moment, he made a disgusted face and spat the grotesque being back out onto the floor and stomped on it, leaving the floorboards cracked and split beneath.

"The time has come, Yami!" proclaimed Serban. "The time has come where your god card is useless against me! I shall set my Wailing Shadow Belbetphlo creature card as mana and tap all seven to summon my strongest creature! Come forth, _Deathliger, Lion of Chaos!_"

The skies then darkened further as out of a vortex came a humanoid black colored lion. It had energy surging all throughout its body, and could be felt on all sides of the room. It stared up at Slifer and gave a cocky laugh.

"Deathliger?" Yami wondered. "What can it do…?"

"Your Slifer the Sky Dragon currently has 8000 attack points, and can only have up to 8000 because the rules of Duel Masters mandate that you cannot have more than eight cards in your hand during your end phase of your turn! However, my Deathliger's power level is at a set 9000. On my next turn, Slifer is going to be history!"

Yami's eye twitched at the sound of Deathliger's power level. He had always known Duel Masters cards to be grossly overpowered compared to Duel Monsters, but never had he witnessed something so mighty.

"Your turn to draw, King of Games, if you are feeling brave enough to take on my lion."

Yami drew, and ordered Slifer to attack Dolimus's Zoa. Slifer quickly finished the task, this time stomping Zoa into the ground and creating a crater in the floor and Skull Lair itself.

Von Stupor set a monster and passed his turn and Dolimus followed his lead, save setting an M/T card instead.

"Ha ha ha ha!" cackled Serban. Dolimus flinched at the sound of his father's wailing laughter. "Here it is, King of Games! Your chances of victory are over! I'll set 'Wailing Shadow Belbetphlo' as mana and tap six to summon Zagaan, Knight of Darkness! Now, Deathliger, attack Yami's Slifer the Sky Dragon, and prove who the real god is!"

Deathliger pulled a sword out of a scabbard on its back and jumped up at Slifer. The dragon prepared a blast, but Deathliger not only shot through it and into his mouth, but soared clear through its head, puncturing its brain and exiting through its skull. The dragon fell instantly, fading into nothing before hitting the house.

_With Slifer gone… and all of our decks exhausted of moves,_ thought Yami to himself. _How can we possibly stand up to something like that?_

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**Can a monster so mighty be defeated in the game of Duel Monsters! Find out in the next chapter! By the way, I have one more MIDI for you guys, if anyone would like to enrich their reading experience. Personally, if I did this with any chapter, I'd definitely do it with the next one. ;) As usual, send me an email at with the subject "cardboard socks" and I'll send it to you. Just play it once you read the line, "Von Stupor rose his hand". You won't regret it!**


	21. Chapter 13

**Sorry about the tardiness guys, I was trying to finish another chapter for Pokémon Gray so's I could post both chapters at once, but... I didn't. Anyways, here's the next chapter to the story! I hope ya LOVE IT!**

* * *

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Chapter 13

"I draw…" stated Yami, doing so. "I shall play 'Change of Heart' on Deathliger, allowing me to use him during my turn, and I'll target Zagaan, Knight of Darkness!"

The two monsters faced each other and stared hard. They each pulled their swords from their scabbards at precision speed, but Deathliger's smashed through its opponent's and sliced clean through his armor, felling him. Deathliger returned to Serban's side of the field as Von Stupor began his turn.

"I shall summon the Nimble Momonga to the field!" he called as the rodent appeared before him. "Go, my creature, and attack Dolimus's shields directly!"

"I'll first activate 'Call of the Haunted' to bring back my Metalzoa! Are you sure you want to attack?" he shot back.

Von Stupor pulled a coin from his cope and flipped it. Staring at it in his hand as it landed for a moment, he turned and said, "I'll think I'll just go with my gut instinct for the moment."

"Then I'll begin. I order my Metalzoa to attack your Nimble Momonga and end my turn!"

The metal horror slashed at the squirrel and easily cut it clean in half.

"I draw," announced Serban. "Yami, you may think you have a valuable defense, but I know better. While I have the chance, I shall attack your shields directly with Deathliger, utilizing his 'Double Breaker' ability, which destroys two shields in one attack!"

The chimerical beast lunged at Yami and with one mighty swing, destroyed his last two shields.

"Now neither of us has any shields left!" spouted Von Stupor in fear.

"I know," agreed Yami, drawing. "I'll set one M/T card and end my turn."

Von Stupor mimicked Yami's move.

"This card…" said Dolimus, staring at his former friend. "I don't want your defeat to be by my hands, Yami… but I refuse to just let you take my life! I will use Metalzoa… to…" His eyes were glassy with sadness. "I'll attack you directly!"

The Metalzoa ran toward Yami fiercely, gnashing its teeth with every thundering step.

"_I activate 'Negate Attack'!_" Von Stupor cried as loud as he could.

A barrier appeared in front of Yami just as the metallic terror reached him. Its force sent the beast stumbling backward, back to its spot in front of Dolimus's shields.

"We must end this now!" yelled Serban. "I'll use Deathliger to attack you directly, King of Games!"

"I'm not defeated just yet!" Yami shouted in defense, and activated 'Magical Cylinder'. "I shall direct your Deathliger's attack right at Dolimus's remaining two shields!"

"No! My son!"

The great beast lunged at Dolimus, and again, sliced his two shields clean in half. Now, a direct attack at any duelist would result in defeat.

"I draw…" said Yami, staring forlornly at his completely dried deck. "I'll set one monster, that ends my turn.

"It is done!" Von Stupor shouted aloud upon seeing his next card. "I'll first start by playing 'Giant Trunade'! This returns all spell or trap cards back to the owner's hands!"

"That cannot help you now, you fool! Deathliger will crush you in the next turn!" Serban criticized him.

A giant wind rushed through the house's open roof, blowing all spell and trap cards along with Serban's mana back to the respective owners' hands.

"'Tis not my entire move! I shall now safely play the magic card, 'Metamorphosis'! This allows me to sacrifice one monster from the field to special summon a fusion monster of the same star level, and my set monster is… _Thousand-Eyes Idol!_"

The Thousand-Eyes Idol popped out of the ground and began to pulsate, clutching its upper body in pain. It grew and gradually transformed into the mighty Thousand-Eyes Restrict.

"That thing looks like… no, it can't be!"

"Father, that is the evolution of Relinquished, the Thousand-Eyes Restrict! It prevents all other monsters from attacking!" Dolimus informed him.

"Not that accursed creature again! Damn it all!"

"Now," announced Von Stupor. "I shall absorb Deathliger, Lion of Chaos!"

The monstrosity inhaled Deathliger after a brief struggle.

"Now, I order you to attack Serban directly, my monster! Go! Absorption Beam Attack!"

The Thousand-Eyes Restrict charged up its eye and shot a laser of energy, which, starting from upward, shot down Serban's left collar bone and down to the crotch of his legs, severing his entire body in half. His two halves fell over in a heap.

Instantly, the fog around everyone disappeared and the house was returned to normal before the damage from the duel. Dolimus ran to his father and collapsed on top of him, crying aloud.

"Wha?" grunted Von Stupor in confusion. "The duel, it…"

"It ended," Yami finished for him. "It only called for one loser, and Serban lost…"

"Son…" wheezed Serban to his collapsed son. He was hardly understandable. "Son, don't become weak, you must stay strong to protect our kind from extinction… However, I don't have long, so there's something I need to tell you."

"What?"

"Dolimus, you are a half-breed… Your mother… was human!"

Dolimus froze in place.

"You are now free from the curse… I am sure you can figure out the rest… And now, I am about to depart. Now go!"

Serban pushed his son off of him with his remaining arm and pulled from his pocket a small device. He cried in agony with every motion he made. He then began to chuckle lightly.

"Well fought, King of Games… But I must protect my son and my secret… Farewell…"

With his last ounce of energy, he pressed the button on the device, and loud explosions were heard by all in the room.

"_Fatherrrrrrrrrr!_" screamed Dolimus to his father who now lay lifeless on the floor.

The entire house began to rock all of a sudden and bits of ceiling came sprinkling down. Dolimus refused to look up from his father's figure.

"A bomb! We must escape from here!" cried Yami.

"What of Dolimus?" asked Von Stupor.

"He has to stay here… with his father."

"You…" Dolimus growled, getting back up and staring at Von Stupor. "You killed my father…"

"I… but… eh… Packrat did it?" he mumbled nervously.

"_You killed my father! I'll kill you, you bastard!_" screamed Dolimus and dove at Von Stupor.

Von Stupor rose his hand to fire a blast at the lunging vampire, but Dolimus was on him too fast. Von Stupor was quickly tackled to the ground. Dolimus raised a hand to swing down on Von Stupor when he was shot back by a magical blast from the mask itself. Dolimus skidded across the ground and manipulated his trajectory so that he landed on the wall, and used his legs to spring back at Von Stupor.

"Dolimus, stop this!" cried Yami.

Von Stupor dove and rolled out of the way and pulled a mouse ball from his cope. He threw it at Dolimus, who sidestepped it. It flew and smacked Yami between his eyes, promptly doubling him over, clutching his face.

Von Stupor rolled to the side and shot a blast at Dolimus, who ducked under it and shot back at Von Stupor, landing a solid straight into his stomach, followed by a right hook to the jaw line. Baron Von Stupor wobbled to the side and ultimately fell over. Dolimus waltzed over to him and jerked him up by his cope, whereupon the zipper busted and sent Von Stupor sprawling to the ground once more. He quickly rolled and shot a blast up at a surprised Dolimus, who was knocked back about five or six feet and fell over.

The walls began to come down around the three men, crashing heard echoing in the distance. Ceiling pieces came raining down, creating overlapping clouds of smoke and debris.

Dolimus roared and charged at Von Stupor, full speed. Before he could react, Dolimus tackled him clear through a wall and into another room.

"Von Stupor!" Yami called, starting to chase after him. Just then, a rafter from the ceiling fell out and crashed to the ground, barring his path.

"_No!"_ he cried, and tried to lift it. Just then, the entire wall collapsed into itself, blocking Yami's route completely. The upper floor began crumbling and collapsing, and the columns supporting the ceiling were beginning to crack apart.

As Yami looked on in shock, he could see blasts of violet light shining through the dark cracks of wood and drywall covering the doorway followed by Dolimus's continued roaring.

"I have to get in there!" Yami cried and pulled with all of his might at the wood, but it refused to budge.

In desperation, Yami turned and ran from the house. He stopped a safe distance away and watched in utter horror as the entire building imploded.

"_Baron Von Stuporrrrrrrrrrr!"_ he screamed after a moment of disbelief and ran into the billowing cloud of dust once more to search for his comrade.

For a half hour he searched under rubble and found not a trace of either Von Stupor or Dolimus. Shortly thereafter, police cars began to arrive.


	22. Chapter 14

"Darkness Absolute"

By: Von Stupor

Epilogue

Yugi was disturbed all day about the events from the prior night. At the last minute, before he was removed from the scene by local authorities, he managed to recover Baron Von Stupor's mask from the rubble. Why he wore a different one eluded him, though he feared now that he would never find out.

He stayed home from school that day, as word had gotten out that Dolimus and his father were caught in their house when, according to authorities, "age got the best of it". After school, Joey, Tristan, Bakura, Amy, and the newly recovered Téa visited Yugi at his house.

Standing up, Yugi spurted, "Téa, you're… in the sunlight?"

"Yeah…" she nodded. "Joey told me what was going on with Dolimus. I still don't ever remember dating him, but yeah, it's the only way to explain my illness and sudden recovery."

"If you're better, than that must mean that Dolimus didn't survive the collapse, then… and if he didn't survive, then…" just then, Yugi stopped and looked downward.

"We know, man. We know," said Joey, patting his back.

Despite how hard he fought it, a small tear managed to dribble down his cheek and build up on his chin. Everyone sat in silence when all of a sudden, Sugoroku Mutou screamed an obscenity from downstairs.

Everyone ran down to see live coverage of the building's excavation from a helicopter. As they all watched, they saw a man being pulled from under a pile of debris. Everyone in the room recognized his orange shirt with the single dark blue stripe across his midsection.

Everyone began cheering as they saw their maskless comrade stand up and brush himself off. He wobbled a bit, and was helped back up by two other medics.

"Zoom in, zoom in!" Joey ordered the television, getting close to the screen.

The camera began to slowly zoom in, but before anyone could see Von Stupor's detail, he pulled a black object from his pocket and put it on over his head. As the camera zoomed in, it appeared to be a black colored spandex mask with red lines outlining the eyes.

"Damn it!" Joey yelled, stamping his foot. "I wanna see his face!"

Punching him in the back of the head, Téa scolded, "We just find out he's alive after a near fatal accident and all you care about is what his face looks like?"

"Not like _you_ don't!"

"That's… that's besides the point!"

Everyone laughed at the scene.

Baron Von Stupor remained on camera for a few minutes and gave a brief interview with a nearby reporter prior to leaving in an ambulance.

Everyone continued to watch the coverage, but there were no further signs of either Dolimus or Serban.

_Yugi,_ Yami thought to him. _I just thought of something. With Serban's dying breaths, he told his son that his mother was a human, and that he was free. Dolimus is not a full-blooded vampire, but a half-breed._

_Okay, what does that mean?_

_It means that since Dolimus is not full-blooded, he is also a victim of Serban. It may be possible for Dolimus to have survived that accident and everyone to become healed, since Von Stupor did in fact destroy the source of the curse for all of his victims. Dolimus acted as a sort of branch of victims for Serban, where the number of victims directly related to Serban could grow at an increased rate._

_You're right! And because Dolimus in himself is a victim of Serban… that means his curse is removed, too! He's no longer a vampire, no matter what!_

_Yes, but he probably died in the accident. They aren't finding any more remains than Von Stupor, but that doesn't rule out the possibility that he lived through it. He doesn't have his vampire strength anymore._

_Yeah… and he'd still be very angry at us for killing Serban…_

_Even so, I doubt he would come back. He's already made his mark here, and can't evoke any more suspicion._

_I guess this is one mystery we'll just never know the answer to._

_Unfortunately so, Yugi. Then again, who knows what the future may hold? After all, stranger things have happened._

_Strange, yes… but I don't think anything can get much stranger than our adventures!_

While the news broadcasted information on a recent drowning, the gang stared at Yugi as he chuckled to himself. He made a glance at them and said, "What?"


End file.
